New Frostbite hair physics montage is one part technical wizardry, two parts nightmare fuel

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DICE shows off next-gen hair physics in new Frostbite montage, and it's so realistic it's scary

Credit: DICE

With the PS5 and Xbox Project Scarlett right around the corner, developers around the world are preparing their software kits and in-house engines for a significant upgrade to processing power, rendering, and more. 

DICE, the studio behind Battlefield 5 and Star Wars Battlefront 2, is one such developer, whose famous Frostbite engine is notorious for both its visual might and logistical rigidity, delivering show-stopping graphics while also being responsible for Anthem's technical deficiencies, as EA continues to standardise the engine's use across its entire family of first-party studios. 

Forgetting the fact that there's a strangely macabre quality to the footage (I would not want to run into that mannequin in a dark alley), those hair physics are certainly worth paying attention to, exhibiting the behaviour and quality of the kind of mane you'd see from a high-end shampoo commercial. 

DICE's goal with the Frostbite engine, at least in this regard, is to create real-time hair physics that are near photorealistic, allowing for more cinematic rendering that looks closer to the experience of watching a movie than a video game cutscene. We'll have to wait until Battlefield 6 or Star Wars: Battlefront 3 until we find out whether the studio achieves that milestone, but - for now - this montage proves things are looking very promising indeed for the next generation of hardware. 

Read more about the 10 key battles that will define the future of gaming, or watch the video below for a guide to everything else that's out this week. 

Alex Avard
Alex Avard

Alex is a former Features Writer at GamesRadar, which once made him responsible for gracing the internet with as many of my words as possible, including reviews, previews, interviews, and more. Lucky internet!