Snowdrop (game engine)

Snowdrop (also known as Ubisoft Snowdrop) is a proprietary game engine created by Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft for use on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, and Luna. It was revealed at E3 2013 with Tom Clancy's The Division, the first game using the engine. Snowdrop is one of the primary game engines used by Ubisoft along with Disrupt, Dunia, and Ubisoft Anvil.

History
The engine is coded mainly in C++. Rodrigo Cortes, former brand art director at Massive Entertainment, said that development on the Snowdrop engine started in 2009. Initially it was an engine built for PC and next-gen development to "do things better not bigger". The core of the game engine is powered by a "node-based system" and the engine is a dynamic, interconnected and flexible system where developers can create their assets quickly and interact with them in ways that have never been done before. Massive created a lighting and destruction system inspired by film production techniques. Features of Snowdrop include advanced physically based rendering (PBR) and a dynamic global illumination system.

According to the developers, the engine was designed with three pillars: Empowerment, which allows animators, artists and designers to get their work done quicker, Real Time, which allows developers to implement and iterate quickly and Fun, a concept that applies not only to the final product, but to using the engine during development. An improved version of the engine was used for Tom Clancy's The Division 2.

In February 2016, Massive confirmed that the engine can be used for other Ubisoft games. According to Martin Hultberg, head of IP at Ubisoft Massive, Snowdrop became available to all Ubisoft studios and not just those working on the Tom Clancy's IP. These games include South Park: The Fractured but Whole, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, and Starlink: Battle for Atlas. In June 2021, Ubisoft confirmed that the engine will be upgraded for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. According to senior technical artist Kunal Luthra, thousands of assets can be propagated inside of each frame to create more highly detailed environments. The engine would also support real-time ray tracing as well as improved AI behavior for NPCs. Snowdrop will also be used for Star Wars Outlaws, and the remake of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell. Ubisoft announced they will continue to upscale and develop the engine.

Features
Features of Snowdrop include:
 * Node-based scripting system
 * Realistic day and night change
 * Global volumetric lighting
 * Procedural destruction
 * 'Advanced' particle system and visual effects
 * Dynamic material shader
 * Live stat tracking

Cancelled

 * Tom Clancy's The Division Heartland