Tuxedo Labs’ Teardown has amassed a sizeable and dedicated community over the years, especially since its full 1.0 release for PC last year, and now, the developer is ready to open the gates for an even larger audience to jump in and experience the game’s offerings. The voxel-based sandbox destruction title is soon set to launch on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, touting tweaks and improvements to the experience to ensure parity across all platforms, and as those who’ve played the game on PC will tell you, there’s no shortage of reasons to be excited about its release. To learn more about Teardown’s console port, the developer’s future plans for the game, and more, we recently sent across a handful of questions to Tuxedo Labs. Below, you can read our interview with CEO Marcus Dawson.
"We have been working with the console makers to see what approach will work best for Teardown. They have different guidelines and requirements than Steam, so the final selection of mods will be different, but we intend to have mod support be as wide as possible."
For starters, was it always the plan to eventually bring Teardown over to consoles, or was that something that only came about following the success it enjoyed on PC?
The main focus during production was to get the game out on Steam. There were no bigger plans than that initially. Still, the idea of releasing on more platforms crept in as the project grew, eventually becoming something we discussed seriously.
What can you tell us about the selection of mods and community-generated content that will be on offer in Teardown on consoles, and what sort of content they will add to the table?
We have been working with the console makers to see what approach will work best for Teardown. They have different guidelines and requirements than Steam, so the final selection of mods will be different, but we intend to have mod support be as wide as possible.
How have you tuned the UI and controls to ensure that they feel good on a console?
We aim to have the game’s console version stay true to the PC version as much as possible. We have, of course, made some adjustments. We optimized the UI so it is easier to see when sitting further away from the screen. We have also mapped everything to the controller, keeping ease of use in mind without compromising any functions.
What can you tell us about Teardown’s implementation of the DualSense’s features? Will the game also be playable on PC using a DualSense controller with its features supported?
We have added as much DualSense control as possible. Luckily for us, because Teardown was built from the ground up in a custom engine that renders out an interactive, physical world, we have access to many inputs for creating immersive haptic feedback and adaptive trigger controls.
And yes, the DualSense functionality will be available on PC as well. However, the API on PC is a bit different from the PS5, so it will not be the exact same experience.
"We aim to have the game’s console version stay true to the PC version as much as possible. We have, of course, made some adjustments. We optimized the UI so it is easier to see when sitting further away from the screen. We have also mapped everything to the controller, keeping ease of use in mind without compromising any functions."
I have to ask – is there a future where Teardown ends up releasing for the Switch? Or are the game’s expansive destruction mechanics a bit too much for the hardware to handle?
That would be really cool. I would love to play Teardown on the Switch, though the game is 100% physics-driven, fully destructible, and completely rendered using ray tracing… so it might be a bit much for the Switch’s hardware.
Teardown enjoyed quite a bit of acclaim from critics and audiences on PC, but its campaign was one of the aspects that some felt was a bit lackluster, though the base experience was followed up by the Art Vandals expansion. Do you have plans for similar content updates in the future?
The campaign splits the community a bit. At its core, it is about problem-solving. It is essentially a puzzle game in a fully destructible environment where the player needs to find a creative solution to complete each mission instead of a single predefined one.
However, some players would like to play something more action-packed when given a fully destructible environment.
But to answer your question, yes, we continue to support and have many plans for more content updates. We are releasing the Time Campers DLC at the same time as the console game launch. This will feature the same gameplay as the campaign but in a Western-themed environment. We also have the Folkrace DLC coming out by Spring 2024, featuring completely different gameplay. It will be more of a destruction-focused racing game, so we are excited about that.
I also want to say that Teardown has a fantastic community of modders who release incredible mods to the game, including ones that completely change up the gameplay experience, so there are virtually endless gaming possibilities.
There has been renewed interest lately in the Xbox Series S’ hardware in particular, and whether or not it’s holding developers back where current-gen titles are concerned. What has your experience with the console been like during the porting process for Teardown?
Our game pushes hardware to its limit, and the Series S has been challenging. But as a developer, this is the type of thing that is exciting to tackle. With some optimizations, we got the game running smoothly on that hardware as well. The resolution will not be at the same level as the Series X, but it will still be a great experience on the Series S.
I think I should also mention that Teardown is not like any other game. Most games are limited in what you can do, making it easier to ensure that everything runs at 60 FPS all the time. Teardown’s sandbox gives players complete freedom and lets them play the way they want. So, if you want to spawn hundreds of bombs that all go off at the same time, then you are free to do that… but it probably won’t be at 60 FPS. That is the beauty of the game, though, and we do not want to limit players.
"I would love to play Teardown on the Switch, though the game is 100% physics-driven, fully destructible, and completely rendered using ray tracing… so it might be a bit much for the Switch’s hardware."
What frame rate and resolution will the game target on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S? Will it launch with multiple graphics modes?
Xbox Series X | PS5:
– Performance mode | 1920×1080, AVG 120 FPS
– Quality mode | 2880х1620, AVG 60 FPS
Xbox Series S:
1440х810 Resolution, AVG 60 FPS
No extra graphics modes will be available.