If last week’s jaw-dropping technical demonstration of the powerful Snowdrop engine is anything to go by, Massive Entertainment’s The Division is going to be a beautiful game to look at.

While the graphics engine built internally within the studio will certainly afford Massive the flexibility and agility they require for a gigantic, open-world, third-person shooter like The Division, they hope to go “better”, not “bigger” with their upcoming project.

“Snowdrop was created in-house, at Massive, in response to a specific requirement: to do things better, not bigger,” brand art director Rodrigo Cortes says. “Triple-A game development projects are growing in scope exponentially, so we wanted to be smart and not rely on brute force. We needed an engine that would support how we work in the studio, promote creativity, and allow the freedom to experiment and prototype.”

Cortes says that the biggest takeaway from the new engine is the ability to allow Massive’s art team to realize their true ambitions and deliver “unexpected new features and unique innovations,” along with “amazing graphics”.

“Thanks to the power of our technology, we have empowered our artists and thus can reach levels of quality never before seen in videogames,” he says. “With the usability of the tools, people really excel in what they create. This has resulted in amazing graphics, as well as unexpected new features and unique innovations that really push the engine, the power of the consoles, and the games we work on, forward.”

We can’t wait to see what Massive has in store. Keep your sights on MP1st for more updates on The Divison, coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.