The performance of the Xbox Series S is a challenge for developers – this is also emphasized by the makers of Dune: Awakening.
The delayed Xbox release of Baldur’s Gate III was the first to really draw attention to the problems the developer studios are having with the Xbox Series S, because Microsoft generally requires that new games for the Xbox can run not only on the more powerful Xbox Series X, but also on the weaker Series S. This led to problems and delays with Baldur’s Gate III, and it currently seems to be the same with Black Myth: Wukong.
There is also frequent criticism from fan circles that Microsoft’s requirement and the Xbox Series S as hardware would slow down game development – and the makers of the promising survival game Dune: Awakening now seem to be taking a similar stance.
Scott Junor, Chief Product Officer at the game’s developers, spoke about the Xbox Series S at gamescom. According to him, the potential survival hit for the Xbox consoles will not be available at launch. The reason: The Xbox Series S represents a “challenge” for the team.
“It’s one of the reasons we’re releasing on PC first. There are so many optimizations we need to do before we can release it on Xbox. But yes, Xbox Series S is a challenge,” said Junor.
On the PC, the Unreal Engine would take a lot of work off the team’s hands. Various technologies will be used here, including FSR. Older graphics cards, which were among the most powerful of their kind a few years ago, should be able to display Dune: Awakening smoothly and well on the PC without any problems.
In addition to a PC version and the Xbox version that will probably follow later, a PS5 version of Dune: Awakening is also planned. Release dates are still pending from Funcom.