The Xbox Series X and PS5 have brought developers significantly better hardware to work with than what we’ve had with the PS4 and Xbox One for the last few years, but as is usually the case with generation transitions, it’s probably going to be a while before we see studios beginning to get the most out of the hardware, especially with most games probably being cross-gen for the foreseeabl future.
That’s exactly what Tor Frick, creative director of The Ascent and co-founder of developer Neon Giant, feels as well. Speaking with GamingBolt in a recent interview, when asked about the impressive hardware of the Xbox Series X and how he foresees it aiding development in the coming years, Frick said that it’s likely going to be some time before we see that properly. At the same time, he also added that things such as the faster SSD will help smaller developers bridge the gap between smaller and larger budget games.
“I think it will take some time before it becomes apparent how big of a shift this will be,” he said. “It will take some time before the development community will have the possibility to fully embrace the new baseline of hardware. The fast load times will allow developers to create experiences that are more seamless, richer, more detailed and more varied. It will help smaller developers bridge the gap between budget titles and what we would traditionally expect from AAA studios. I think we will just see even more variety of games being made from studios of all sizes, which is amazing.”
The Ascent launches for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on July 29. In this same interview, Frick also spoke with us about the game’s Xbox console exclusivity. Our full interview will be live soon, so stay tuned for that.
