The Medium Simply Could Not Have Worked On Current-Gen Hardware, Says Developer

Horror enthusiasts Bloober Team are going to have a big presence on next-gen consoles right out the game. In addition to Observer: System Redux – which will be releasing on both PS5 and Xbox Series X – they’ve also got The Medium in the works, a game that will be releasing as a console exclusive for Microsoft’s system. And while many developers and publishers will be choosing to launch as cross-gen releases for the foreseeable future, Bloober Team are going all-in on next-gen with their newest game.

But why exactly is that the case? Well, quite simply, according to lead game designer Wojciech Piejko, Bloober Team simply would not have been able to realize their vision for the game on current gen systems.

Speaking to GameSpot, Piejko talked about a very particular defining feature of the game, and while he did not say what exactly that feature is – that is information that the developers are planning on sharing later – he did say that it is only with the hardware of the Xbox Series X that that could be properly implemented in the game.

“The idea was like in 2012, I think, the first iteration of it,” said Piejko when asked about how long Bloober Team have been thinking about The Medium. “Of course the game changed and our approach changed, but only next-gen is able to handle our vision. So yeah, we’ve been waiting for this.

“I can’t tell you right now about our most important feature, because we will have to save it for later. But the gameplay mechanic built around those two worlds couldn’t be fully realized on current-gen hardware. This is something that I think will distinguish our game from any other. It’s also even patented. So yeah, the game simply cannot work the same way on current-gen platforms. And that’s why we are developing the game for Xbox Series X, plus PC.”

While it might be a while before we learn about this aforementioned “most important feature,” we can already see that from a technical perspective, The Medium is looking to leverage next-gen hardware as much as it can, promising 4K support, ray-tracing, and no load times.

The Medium will launch for Xbox Series X and PC this holiday season.