Next Ghost Recon Game Reportedly Switching to Unreal Engine 5

Next Ghost Recon Game Reportedly Switching to Unreal Engine 5

Ubisoft appears to be planning significant changes for the next installment in its popular Ghost Recon series. According to reputable insider Tom Henderson, the upcoming game is being developed using Unreal Engine 5, moving away from Ubisoft's traditional in-house engines.

Henderson shared this information during a recent episode of the Insider Gaming Weekly podcast, citing sources including developer profiles on LinkedIn. He also pointed out that Ghost Recon previously utilized Unreal Engine for earlier titles before the series transitioned to Ubisoft’s proprietary Anvil and Snowdrop technologies. “This game will be on Unreal Engine. I mean, Ghost Recon has been on Unreal before, but then it went to Anvil and Snowdrop. I don’t know why they decided to go back, maybe they want to get that vibe again? But, it looks like they've now gone with Unreal Engine 5, and that's pretty interesting,” Henderson remarked.

This strategic move to a third-party engine could be driven by a desire to recapture the classic atmosphere that defined early Ubisoft tactical shooters. For example, 2004’s Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 was built on Unreal Engine 2, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas used Unreal Engine 3. The most recent mainline entry in the series, Breakpoint, ran on AnvilNext 2.0, the same engine used for games like Rainbow Six Extraction and Riders Republic. However, over the years, Ubisoft's internal engines—Anvil and Snowdrop—have become increasingly tailored for large-scale action titles and expansive open worlds, rather than the focused tactical shooters that prioritize realism.

While an official announcement for the new Ghost Recon has yet to be made, we already know that the project is set to abandon the third-person perspective. Players will experience the action from a first-person view, similar to the very first games in the franchise. This engine shift, combined with the change in perspective, strongly suggests that the series is undergoing a comprehensive reboot, impacting both its gameplay mechanics and underlying technical foundation. This could mean a fresh start for Ghost Recon, potentially returning to the tactical depth and immersive feel that long-time fans have been hoping for.