Basically they’ve written the design document for the next game, which is why they can reveal the engine because that’s been decided on. It doesn’t mean they know the story yet, but they likely have a good general idea, because that would inform the design document.
For example if the game needed jetpacks, but that wasn’t an existing engine feature, then they have a plan for jetpacks. And if you NEED jetpacks, you probably know roughly where they’re going to be used, so you have some gameplay/story ideas mapped out.
But also a design plan and a finished product are very different things. You might plan for one thing, but create something very different.
What is pre-production? Did they already buy the snacks? Are they just thinking about starting?
Basically they’ve written the design document for the next game, which is why they can reveal the engine because that’s been decided on. It doesn’t mean they know the story yet, but they likely have a good general idea, because that would inform the design document.
For example if the game needed jetpacks, but that wasn’t an existing engine feature, then they have a plan for jetpacks. And if you NEED jetpacks, you probably know roughly where they’re going to be used, so you have some gameplay/story ideas mapped out.
But also a design plan and a finished product are very different things. You might plan for one thing, but create something very different.
So the game is probably still 4-5 years away.