'GPU is a Big Issue'; Hardships of Xbox Series S Gamedev as Seen by Remedy
Remedy talked about how much trouble they had developing a dedicated version of Alan Wake for Xbox Series S consoles.
The weak hardware of the Xbox Series S console is weighing down developers more and more. The latest example of this is studio Remedy, currently working on Alan Wake 2, the sequel to the iconic survival-horror from 2010.
- The topic was mentioned in an interview with IGN by Thomas Puha, responsible for publlic relations at Remedy.
- Puha admitted that the Xbox Series S has caused the developers big problems. The reason is the weak GPU and modest memory. Lowering the resolution was not enough to make Alan Wake 2 run well on this device. The developers also had to make other simplifications to the visuals, although they tried to maintain the overall high quality.
- Player expectations are also a problem. PC users with weak configurations know that the games will not look spectacular on their PC. Console gamers, on the other hand, are not used to this.
- Remedy assures that Alan Wake 2 will look good and run at 30 fps on Xbox Series S, but the developers admit that the game will only spread its wings on PC, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 consoles.
This is just the latest example of the problems the Xbox Series S is causing game developers. Recently, one developer admitted that during the development of the first games for next-generation consoles this weaker hardware proved so troublesome that many studios are now trying to convince Microsoft to enabled them to skip this platform for their next project.
The corporation, however, is not about to give in. The head of the Xbox division, Phil Spencer, argues that it is better for the industry as a whole if there is a weaker, but much cheaper, next-generation console, as this makes more people join in the fun.
However, one can see some changes in Microsoft's approach. In the past, the company required that the Xbox X Series and Xbox S Series versions offer the same functionality. In the case of Baldur's Gate 3 however, this rule was dismissed, because the weaker of the consoles could not handle the split-screen co-op mode.
Finally, let's recall that Alan Wake 2 will be released at 27 October, this year. The game was designed to run at 30 frames per second, but two weeks ago Remedy informed that the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will feature a performance mode with 60 fps after all.
