Havok On How Expanded PS4/Xbox One Memory & Optimized Middleware Will Help Devs

Though it’s been a little over a month since the Xbox One and PS4 released, there are still doubts whether memory will be sufficient to last an entire generation. Xbox One allocates 5GB of RAM for games and  we’re still a little unclear on how much the PS4 allocates. There have been rumors of 5.5 GB earlier but nothing is concrete at the moment. Regardless of how much RAM these systems have, Havok’s Head of Product Management Andrew Bowell believes it will ultimately result into developers doing more in their games.

“Developers have long dreamt about more RAM. RAM has been so scarce over the last 20 years in console hardware that I feel many prayers have been answered this time around However it will take absolutely no time for artists to use all available RAM, even 8 GB, you can be sure of that,” he said to GamingBolt.

He also explained how Havok deals with sudden developer requests, especially concerning features that might not currently be supported by the engine, and how easy or difficult it is to scale the engine in such circumstances.

“In terms of Havok technology, it has always been our goal to enable developers to do more with less. Even with the large amounts of RAM available, the developers will still find ways to use even last byte. To that end, it is always a requirement for middleware to have the smallest possible memory footprint. This is also becoming even more of a requirement as console developers look at ways to bring their title to mobile platforms.”

It’s already been obvious, especially with concerns to hurdles such as the Xbox One’s eSRAM. However, for developers to be able to utilize, say, all the available game memory of the PS4? It will be a while before something like this is possible, but take that as an assurance that the next generation of consoles isn’t going anywhere any time soon.