One of the biggest benefits of all that power is giving developers the ability to make games that are Xbox Series X|S Optimized. This means that they’ve taken full advantage of the unique capabilities of Xbox Series X|S, both for new titles built natively using the Xbox Series X|S development environment as well as previously released titles that have been rebuilt specifically for the console. In our Inside Xbox Series X|S Optimized series, these creators will share the behind-the-scenes accounts of how they’re optimizing their titles for Xbox Series X|S and what that means for the future of gaming. Today, we’ll be chatting with Julien Adriano, Technical Director at Motive Studios/Electronic Arts about optimizing Star Wars: Squadrons for Xbox Series X|S.
Q: “What excites you most about developing and bringing Star Wars: Squadrons to life on next-generation hardware?”
A: Each new console era is always hugely exciting, both for us as players and as developers. So even though we planned on making Squadrons for the Xbox One, we just had to see what the new hardware could do! Getting to tune our metaphorical starfighter’s engine to be just that much better makes all the difference and we know it’ll be appreciated by our community on next-gen consoles.
Q: In addition to benefiting from the power and performance of Xbox Series X|S for quicker load times etc. what Xbox Series X|S features were you most excited to explore leveraging in the development of Star Wars: Squadrons?
A: Higher resolution support is great, but I’d say we were most excited about the support for higher frame rates. It makes a huge difference when playing at 120FPS since you can track your opponents so much better.
Q: How will these enhancements impact a player’s experience with Star Wars: Squadrons?
A: Higher frame rates and resolution make a huge difference when trying to chase enemies or spot them in the distance. There’s been more than one time that I’ve been thankful for a resolution increase when shooting down a missile that was heading straight at me!
Q: Why did your development team choose to focus on improved resolution and framerate as enhancement areas for Star Wars: Squadrons on Xbox Series X|S?
A: When it comes to Squadrons, we’ve given our players a very focused, authentic experience: flying in a first-person cockpit. That means we know where the player will be and, more importantly, what’s going to matter most when they’re looking around. The assets in the game are already at a pretty high quality, so making the overall experience better with a higher frame rate and resolution was really central in bringing the experience up. It made the most sense for how to optimize the game for next-gen and take advantage of the great new consoles.
Q: How do you expect fans of Star Wars: Squadrons will respond to playing it on Xbox Series X|S with these enhancements?
A: Honestly, we hope they respond to it the same way we did! Getting our hands on the new consoles was like being a kid on a birthday all over again. We hope this makes their playtime even better and gives them a taste of what’s to come this generation for these consoles.
Q: What does Xbox Series X|S development enable in current or future projects that you could not have achieved with the previous generation of consoles?”
A: Well, that’s something you’re just going to have to wait to see about, but due to the power these consoles are packing, it definitely opens up a whole new world of possibilities. It’s going to make for some very exciting games! We can’t wait to see what other studios are working on, too.
From all of us at EA, Motive Studios, and beyond, we really just want to thank our incredible community for all their support. In case you haven’t heard yet, as a show of our thanks, we’ve deployed one more supply drop. Last month we added a new map and starfighter components, but this month we just added the iconic B-wing and TIE defender alongside custom matches. We really hope our players love it! And of course, players on the Xbox Series X|S get to try out the new stuff, too.
Related:
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The Orb is Here: Discover Mørkredd Today with Xbox Game Pass
Microsoft Flight Simulator Coming to Xbox Series X|S Summer 2021
