The free-to-play shooter Warface has stuck around and grown stronger in the many years it’s been around, having amassed millions of players. It’s been on available on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 for a while not. Switch players had been let out for a while, but that’s suddenly changed.

Out of nowhere, with no fanfare, the online shooter is now out on the Switch. The game is currently available on the Australian eShop, and should be releasing elsewhere shortly as well. It’s a little strange to see the game releasing with not so much as a trailer or any sort of announcements, but Switch owners will still be glad to have access to the free-to-play title.

Warface is out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The developer is also looking closely at the upcoming next-gen consoles, and the possibility of releasing the game for those. Read more on that through here.

With next-gen right around the corner, it’s only natural to hear about games coming to the upcoming platforms with much more frequency. And while that’s something of a given for upcoming games that will be releasing around or after the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, it’s worth mentioning that there’s also plenty of older titles that might be looking at next-gen ports.

One such game is Warface– as a live service multiplayer shooter that has bee around for years across various platforms and has cultivated a large and dedicated playerbase, continuity, stability, ad consistency are going to be very important even heading into next-gen- and so, you’d think that this is a game that might be eyeing ports on the PS5 and the Xbox Series X (after all, it already did so with the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One).

And based on the words of Warface franchise lead Ivan Pabiarzhyn of publishers My.Games, there’s a very good chance that that’ll end up happening.

Recently, speaking in an interview with GamingBolt, Pabiarzhyn said that even though he couldn’t confirm anything yet, the developers were still “looking into what the next-gen consoles can offer us”, mentioning that CryEngine – the engine the game is built on – was “heavily modified” so that it could “run smoothly on a vast variety of systems.”

“We’ve already started communicating with the platforms about new hardware,” said Pabiarzhyn. “For obvious reasons we cannot announce anything solid at this point. The engine that powers Warface, CryEngine, was heavily modified by our team to be able to run smoothly on a vast variety of systems. If you download it and launch the game on a relatively weak PC, for example, you will be surprised how well it will run.

“With that in mind, we’re definitely looking into what the next-gen consoles can offer us, especially in terms of increased performance and graphical fidelity.”

Warface is currently available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The PS5 and the Xbox Series X are releasing this Holiday season. You can read our full interview with Pabiarzhyn through here.

Recently, to lift the fog somewhat on that future, we sent across a few questions to the people in charge of the competitive online shooter, asking about everything from the future of Warface itself, to the potential of cloud streaming, to next-gen consoles and what they can potentially deliver, and more. You can read our conversation with Warface franchise lead Ivan Pabiarzhyn, of publishers My.com.

"We have room for keeping going further, growing our audience, and putting additional resources into the development of the project."

With a game like Warface, which is constantly growing and evolving, how do you decide when to draw a line and maybe start working on a sequel instead? Or do you view this as something you can keep going indefinitely?

Warface is a worldwide popular FPS F2P game with more than 80 million players around the globe. Although I can’t deny that we are thinking about expanding Warface universe, it is too early to talk about a sequel. At the moment we are available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One – so we have room for keeping going further, growing our audience, and putting additional resources into the development of the project.

As a free-to-play game, what are your driving philosophies behind monetization and in-game progression?

We have a diversified economy system and very deep achievement system in the game to allow players choose and control their progression themselves.

We have 3 in-game currencies: Warface Dollars, Crowns, and Kredits. Warface Dollars is the main currency earned by participating in Co-op, Versus and Special operations missions, based on how successful one played in them. Crowns, which is a reward for performing well in Co-op missions, Special operations or Raids. Rewards are dependent on two factors: completion time and kill score. And finally, Kredits, which can be either purchased using real money or earned by winning regular competitions and contests in the game.

In addition, there are more than 1,000 different achievements across all kinds of content. Every time players join the game, they can set their own long-term or short-term goals and keep playing to pursue them.

Do you have any plans to launch on the Switch?

Nintendo Switch is a fascinating device. There’s so much potential packed into the little chipset, and the tricks the developers are using to transfer full-fat current games to Switch are quite ingenious. While we cannot announce anything for Switch at this point, we’re keeping a close look on what’s happening around that platform.

Google has been talking about how cloud streaming can potentially expand multiplayer gaming in massive ways, with matches that can host thousands of players at a time, which should be quite exciting for a multiplayer game such as Warface?

The idea behind Google Stadia sounds really exciting, and it may be really interesting not only for the players but also for game studios and developers, as with Stadia Google might potentially be able to increase the total number of gamers in the world by attracting to the games those who for different reasons have no consoles or high performance PC for gaming. However, there are so many details which are not clear yet and so many factors that may impact on the performance of the service, that it is too early to have any real discussion about that. We’ll see.

"The transition to SSD is probably the most important improvement in the new-gen consoles."

How far away do you think such a scenario is from becoming a reality?

There is a great potential in Stadia. It may gain rapid popularity or the progressive one, depending on how effective the technical solutions will be implemented and how efficient Google will interact with the gaming companies. However, there are no doubts that this innovative service will find its place in the sun.

Warface started out on a 7th generation console (after its PC launch, that is), and then made the transition to PS4 and Xbox One. Are you planning on taking it even further into next gen as well?

We’ve already started communicating with the platforms about new hardware. For obvious reasons we cannot announce anything solid at this point. The engine that powers Warface, CryEngine, was heavily modified by our team to be able to run smoothly on a vast variety of systems. If you download it and launch the game on a relatively weak PC, for example, you will be surprised how well it will run.

With that in mind, we’re definitely looking into what the next-gen consoles can offer us, especially in terms of increased performance and graphical fidelity.

How important is it for a multiplayer game like Warface that cross-play becomes an industry standard going into next gen?

We are not alone to be really excited about the cross-play trend and we think it’s incredible that industry itself is moving towards helping developers out in their intention to make gameplay experience even more fascinating to the players. It’s been a year since Warface became available on PS4 and Xbox One and we have already exceeded the milestone of 13 million players globally with 40% out of this amount being from USA. We see a huge potential in cross-play between PS4 and Xbox One players, which will become available in Warface in Q2 next year. Our main goal is to make Warface accessible to as many players as possible, especially taking into consideration the dynamic and fast-paced environment of the game.

To my mind, it is quite logical that cross-play might be available in the next-gen consoles.

There’s been a lot of talk of SSDs, which the PS5 and the Xbox Series X are both confirmed to feature. What’s the biggest impact it’s going to have on development, according to you? 

The transition to SSD is probably the most important improvement in the new-gen consoles. The performance of the disk subsystem is the narrowest bottleneck of the current generation. And this problem is becoming more urgent every year with the growing trend for open worlds of the size of tens and sometimes hundreds of square kilometers in modern game projects. As for the open game worlds, it is impossible to keep the entire game map in RAM, so developers have to add new objects location by location as the player moves forward. In order to do this, the developer has to use tricks in the schedule (deterioration of detail and range of drawing objects, using fewer unique objects on the map) and gameplay (limitation of the maximum speed of a player’s movement, creation of buffer zones on the map with a reduced number of unique objects in order to be able to load next zone with more details). Of course, developers do not like to make such compromises, because it affects their games.

But SSD solves this problem. You can think of SSD as an extension of RAM. Levels should load faster, drawing distances can be increased. It should also allow developers to get rid of such a rudiment as a “loading screen” and make the game as seamless as possible. Fast streaming allows making larger game worlds with richer content locations.

"Based on the information we have about this new PS5 haptic-enabled controller, we think it has good potential for enriching gaming experience, adding new ways of interaction to the players, broadening horizons for the developers and, thus, pushing forward the evolution of video games. But… I think much will depend on Sony and how it makes PS5."

Speaking of next-gen hardware, something else that the PS5 and the Xbox Series X are both going to have is a Zen 2 CPU- how big of a leap is it over current gen hardware in your view, and how is it going to help development?

Featuring the new generation of AMD processors in the PS5 / Xbox Series X will bring an increase in processor frequency by about 50%. For games, this means an improvement in quantitative parameters: detail / size of worlds, more AI characters processing. But what’s more important is that it will be possible to create previously inaccessible effects. For example, miscalculation of a physically reliable reflection of sounds from walls, which can turn the genre of competitive shooters, which at the moment rely more on the player’s reaction speed and shooting accuracy, makes compromises in assessing the accuracy of enemy positioning using sound.

The Xbox Series X also features GDDR6 memory- what’s the impact it will have on games in conjunction with the other advancements we’re going to see in next-gen consoles? 

Memory performance is one of the biggest bottlenecks when developing for a console. GDDR6 offers a big leap in data transfer rates between the processor and RAM. This means that the CPU will spend less time waiting for access to data in RAM, which should have a beneficial effect on the frame rate. With GDDR6, developers can put more stuff on-screen without sacrificing stable frame rates, which is awesome.

What’s your take on the PS5’s haptic-enabled controller? Do you think it’s something that can significantly add to an experience, or is it just going to be a novelty?

Based on the information we have about this new PS5 haptic-enabled controller, we think it has good potential for enriching gaming experience, adding new ways of interaction to the players, broadening horizons for the developers and, thus, pushing forward the evolution of video games. But… I think much will depend on Sony and how it makes PS5. All in all, we will definitely see some interesting and unexpected solutions. Let’s wait – it won’t be long now.

Solid state drive technology has long been the domain of PC gaming, though some users have fitted them into current gen consoles. With the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett, SSD technology will be in the consoles from day one. We’ve already heard and see a lot about how these drives will reduce loading times, along with increasing the overall speed of the game.

Speaking to My.Games’ Ivan Pabiarzhyn, franchise lead for free to play shooter Warface, the transition to solid state drives will be the “most important improvement” for next-gen consoles. “The performance of the disk subsystem is the narrowest bottleneck of the current generation. And this problem is becoming more urgent every year with the growing trend for open worlds of the size of tens and sometimes hundreds of square kilometers in modern game projects. As for the open game worlds, it is impossible to keep the entire game map in RAM, so developers have to add new objects location by location as the player moves forward.

“In order to do this, the developer has to use tricks in the schedule (deterioration of detail and range of drawing objects, using fewer unique objects on the map) and gameplay (limitation of the maximum speed of a player’s movement, creation of buffer zones on the map with a reduced number of unique objects in order to be able to load next zone with more details). Of course, developers do not like to make such compromises, because it affects their games.”

The SSD in this case will act as an extension to the system’s RAM. “But SSD solves this problem. You can think of SSD as an extension of RAM. Levels should load faster, drawing distances can be increased. It should also allow developers to get rid of such a rudiment as a ‘loading screen’ and make the game as seamless as possible. Fast streaming allows making larger game worlds with richer content locations.”

Of course, as some people like Remedy Entertainment technical director Mika Vehkala have pointed out, loading times won’t necessarily be faster if developers don’t optimize for it. There could be situations where game production will cost less from not having to optimize content, resulting in little improvement. At the very least, first party studios under Xbox Game Studios and Sony Worldwide Studios will look to avoid this but what about the rest?

As always, time will tell. Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett are planned to release in Holiday 2020. Stay tuned for more details on both in the meantime.

With the recent X019, Microsoft has been making some big moves to prepare for the next generation. Xbox Game Pass is seeing several new additions like Kingdom Hearts and Yakuza while new IPs like Rare’s Everwild and Obsidian’s Grounded have been announced. However, it may be a while before we see the impact of Xbox Scarlett’s hardware on game development.

For instance, how will technology like GDD6 RAM affect games development? We had a chance to speak to My.Games’ Ivan Pabriarzhyn, who’s the franchise lead for free to play shooter Warface. He said that GDD6 RAM should fix one of the bigger obstacles for developing on consoles.

“Memory performance is one of the biggest bottlenecks when developing for a console,” said Pabiarzhyn. “GDDR6 offers a big leap in data transfer rates between the processor and RAM. This means that the CPU will spend less time waiting for access to data in RAM, which should have a beneficial effect on the frame rate. With GDDR6, developers can put more stuff on-screen without sacrificing stable frame rates, which is awesome.”

In essence, this would mean that games like Halo Infinite could offer the same large scale battles as its predecessor, only with more objects on-screen and at a higher resolution. Then again, for all the benefits that the hardware provides, it may take some time before developers fully optimize for it. Such is the case with every generation, it seems.

Xbox Scarlett is out in Holiday 2020. Sony’s PlayStation 5 is out in the same period.

Warface had initially been released on the PC many years back, and it did exceedingly well, too- at one point,  it had 25 million registered users. After many years away from current gen consoles, Warface is not available on PS4 as well, and best of all- it’s available for free. To celebrate the release of the game on the PS4, a brand new trailer has also been released.

You can get into the game right now and choose to either play against AI opponents or against other players. As of now, there are nineteen different maps available, but Crytek plans to work on additional DLC content which will add, among other things, forty new maps, four new raids, and three new game modes, which will also include – you guessed it –  a Battle Royale mode!

If you want to see what the game looks like, you can check out the trailer below. As for whether it’s worth it, well, nothing can beat the price tag of ‘free’, so check it out if it looks interesting to you.

Crytek’s free to play game, Warface, has just received a brand new update that adds a new map for the game’s co-op mode. This is the second level as part of the Operation Cold Peak update, and it sees teams storming a ruined castle and then holding strong when their mission turns out to be a deadly trap.

In addition to this, the new update also adds some new festively themed content to Warface, including bonus Warface Dollars to quirky Christmas outfits and Yuletide weapons, which will be added to player’s inventories for free every day at random as long as they log in between now and Christmas day. two new items have been added to the shop – namely a Christmas Gift Box which doubles as a devious directional mine, and the Christmas Firecracker; a powerful pistol which resembles a Christmas cracker but goes off with a significantly bigger bang, which should let you terrorize players, gain a significant advantage, and be festive all at once.

Free to play shooter Warface will be removed from the Xbox Marketplace come February 1st 2015. The game will no longer be running for Xbox 360 players, as revealed on the official Facebook page.

“In the run up to February 1 next year, we’ll be gradually winding down Warface service on Xbox 360. Existing players will still be able to play the game and use any content they have already acquired until the game closure date. However, effective today, no new players will be able to join and current players will no longer be able to purchase additional Warface Kredits.

“Players can spend any existing Kredits they have within the game until it closes on February 1. To all our Xbox 360 players, thank you for choosing to spend your time playing Warface.”

The PC version is still going strong though and Crytek hopes that Xbox 360 players will be a part of the “vibrant community enjoying regular new content”.

Even though Crytek denied any financial troubles yesterday following stories about the disastrous development of Ryse: Son of Rome and low figures from CryEngine licenses, anonymous employees spoke to Kotaku about how things are less than peachy over at the studio.

According to these employees, not only has Crytek been late with payments but 100 staff members have departed since March 2014. Apparently multiple games have been cancelled which includes a prototype for Ryse 2. On top of this, the focus on free to play titles like Warface and Arena of Fate have caused their own set of troubles for the company.

As one Crytek employee told Kotaku, “Instead of focusing on the core strengths of the company, which would be the [Crytek] engine and innovative PC titles, we simply jumped at every next big thing in the industry. Except that each time we did, it was a little too late and we were running after our competitors. There’s no sense of identity at this point and I think that frustrates both employees and fans.”

Where does that leave games like Homefront: The Revolution? We’ll find out in the coming months, but don’t expect reports of Crytek’s problems to go away any time soon.

Now that Warface is available for the Xbox 360, what’s next for Crytek? Gamereactor recently spoke to Crytek Kiev senior producer Wim Coveliers and asked if the development team might target the Xbox One next.

Coveliers stated that, “When you work in the video games industry all platforms are always in your mind, but we don’t have any plans for it right now. So we want to focus on making the Xbox 360 [game] that product it needs to be and the success that it deserves to be and so once we’ve sort of established that and once we’ve gotten something that’s good, once we’ve launched it, we might start looking at other things.”

Currently, Warface has more than 25 million registered users on the Xbox 360 and PC worldwide. Though a free to play title on PC, it requires Xbox Live Gold to play on the Xbox 360. What would you think of Warface on the Xbox One? Let us know in the comments.