Unreal Engine 4, Frostbite 3 Engine not coming to Wii U

Update: Mark Rein says Unreal Engine 4 can run on Wii U if scaled down. Click here for article.

Original Story

Epic Games is the company behind the Unreal Engine, and the fourth version of said engine is capable of some truly amazing visuals. In an interview with Videogamer last year, Epic's Mark Rein said that Unreal Engine 4 could be made to run on the Wii U, provided it was scaled down, but he went on to say that Epic themselves would not be supporting Nintendo's new console.

Kotaku recently spoke with Rein at the GDC, and posed the question once more. His answer was much more blunt this time around.

Kotaku: "Will UE4 run on the Wii U?"

Rein: "Hahaha no. I mean, sorry, it's not really a correct answer. We're not… we have Unreal Engine 3 for the Wii U. Right? And Unreal Engine 3 is powering all kinds of amazing games, still lots of games are being made with Unreal Engine 3. We announced today about a new Unreal Engine 3 license. Unreal Engine 3 doesn't disappear because of Unreal Engine 4. But our goal for Unreal Engine 4 console-wise is next-gen consoles. That's really what our energies are focused on. If you want to make a Wii U game, we have Unreal Engine 3, and it's powering some of the best games on the Wii U already.

IGN then asked him why he laughed at the possibility of UE4 on Wii U, and he elaborated further:

“I just laugh at the question…Unreal Engine 4, we’re not PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or Wii U. It’s next-gen technology. That’s what we’re aiming for.”


“The truth is, if a developer wanted to take an Unreal Engine game and put it on Wii U, they could. Unreal Engine 3 is kicking ass on Wii U. The best games on Wii U are made on our technology. What more do you want from us?”

In addition, DICE, the developers of Battlefield 4, have confirmed that the Frostbite 3 Engine will not support the Wii U either. Here are a few comments from Patrick Bach, the executive producer of the Battlefield franchise.

"We right now don't have support for the Wii U in the Frostbite engine, we don't want to back down from what we see as our low-spec machines [including the PS3 and Xbox 360]."

"It's about, where do you put your focus? And the Wii U is not a part of our focus right now."

The Frostbite 3 Engine will act as the framework for many of Electronic Arts' future games, including Dragon Age 3: Inquisition and the next Mass Effect title which is currently in development. EA has not announced Wii U versions of either of those games, among others.

Sources: Kotaku, IGN, Eurogamer, Polygon