Does Avatar Frontiers of Pandora use Unreal Engine 5?

Visually speaking, it is no surprise that Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is absolutely stunning. Developer Ubisoft is often known to push the envelope in graphics tech, and this is one of those times. With the advent of major game engines like Unreal Engine 5, it would not be far-fetched for players to assume that the title uses Epic Games' latest tech to make its world come alive.

This article explores this popular assumption to find out whether Avatar Frontiers of Pandora indeed uses Unreal Engine 5 or if the game opts for a more custom solution, as we have seen many times before.

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Avatar Frontiers of Pandora uses the in-house Snowdrop Engine and not Unreal Engine 5

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the game is built upon Snowdrop, one of Ubisoft's major engines crafted for high-end visual fidelity while still boasting great performance. It was initially built for the original Tom Clancy's The Division game and since then has been utilized for a wide variety of genres. Examples include South Park: The Fractured But Whole, XDefiant, and even the Mario + Rabbids titles on the Nintendo Switch.

While Unreal Engine 5 has impressed gamers with titles like The Talos Principle 2 and Immortals of Aveum, Snowdrop is no slouch either. Especially players who enjoy Avatar Frontiers of Pandora on high-end PCs will be able to run the game with all bells and whistles cranked up. This results in one of the most visually striking games on the market at the moment.

From the detailed character models and animations that are faithful to James Cameron's sci-fi universe to open worlds teeming with a wide variety of fauna and flora as far as the eye can see, whether or not players are fans of the gameplay, it is undeniable that the game impresses with its graphics. On top of crisp texture work for the most part, the game also features raytracing, further adding to the sense of realism and immersion.

The PC port also seems to be successful amid many disasters seen earlier this year. All in all, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora is a series fan's dream come true, thanks to the Snowdrop engine. Interestingly, the upcoming Splinter Cell remake will also utilize this tech. Given the amazing visuals we have seen in Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, this just might be a clue as to what's to come.

Avatar Frontiers of Pandora was released on December 7, 2023. The open-world first-person shooter is available for the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.