Rumor: EA preparing a Frostbite 2.0-powered Dead Space 3

Visceral Games may be looking to employ EA's proprietary graphics engine, the DICE-developed Frostbite 2.0, for a new title in the Dead Space series. NowGamer points to a job listing seeking environmental artists for a new Montreal-developed Dead Space property, together with a tweet from DICE's Johan Andersson in which the rendering architect teased a visit to one of EA's “Frostbite-powered studios” in Montreal.

Above: DS3 will apparently forgo the prequels' underlit claustrophobia for an ice-planet setting, which would at least make Frostbite thematically appropriate

The combination points strongly to a Frostbite 2.0 backend powering the new survival-horror – which would be a good fit, what with the Dead Space series' history of incorporating clever lighting and environmental detail into gameplay on a deep level. However, reports abound that EA is looking to expand Dead Space beyond its survival-horror roots – and that former Killzone head Arjan Brussee will be joining Visceral for an “ambitious” project possibly related to its signature series. Put all these details together, and you get... a headache, an abstract sense of strong potential, and a hankering for further details from EA.