With Sony’s PS5 showcase out of the way, all eyes are on Microsoft to impress with its Xbox Series X event in July. The publisher will showcase upcoming titles from its first-party studios (including Halo Infinite) along how they’ll push the next-gen hardware. Despite all the hype for the PS5 and its solid state drive, it’s important to remember the Xbox Series X’s Velocity Architecture.
Velocity Architecture reduces loading times but is meant to improve the loading of assets from the console’s solid state drive while the overall space they occupy is reduced. As we noted in our tech analysis here, it’s possible to directly stream up to 100 GB of assets from the drive. How significant will its impact be on development?
GamingBolt spoke to Marcin Makaj, who’s the lead on Commander ’85, a sci-fi thriller that’s currently in development. It must be noted that Makaj doesn’t currently have any next-gen dev kits and his opinions are based on his “knowledge from presentations and the internet.”
When asked about Velocity Architecture and how it would make development easier, he said, “Xbox has told that this technology will unlock new, never-seen before capabilities in game development for consoles. I am aware that this is a marketing jargon, but I am honestly excited to see the Velocity Architecture in action. Together with a fast SSD, it can really make a difference. “
There’s a different in power between the PS5 and Xbox Series X on paper but will that advantage be nullified by Microsoft’s commitment to cross-gen support? “I am a long-term Xbox fan, and I have a lot of games for this console, so from a players point of view – the cross gen policy is always a great thing. Obviously when playing previous gen games the power advantage of Xbox Series X won’t make such a big difference – but hey, I can play my favorite games!” says Makaj.
The Xbox Series X and PS5 are both slated to release this holiday season. Stay tuned for more details and updates on Microsoft’s console in the coming days.