Ahead of its delayed release later this October, Alan Wake 2’s developers, Remedy Entertainment, is doing the industry standard press tours. Unfortunately, some revelations aren’t good news. For example, Remedy revealed that the Xbox Series S version of Alan Wake 2 won’t feature the 60 FPS mode that comes standard for its Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 counterparts.
Now, if you’ve been keeping an eye on the Xbox Series S, this might not come as a full-blown surprise. While far more affordable, the console has had its share of controversies. A key issue was the split-screen problems, the main reason for the delayed the Xbox launch of the lauded Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game, Baldur’s Gate 3.
The pocket-friendly Series S is noticeably less powerful. As we approach its third year since launching, the performance gap is more evident. More developers, itching to harness the capabilities of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, are finding themselves in a bind with the Series S.
Remedy’s attempt with Alan Wake 2 is clear: make it a visual masterpiece for current-gen consoles. However, the Series S presented a challenge for the studio. Thomas Puha, Remedy’s communications director, was candid about this in an episode of IGN’s Next-Gen Console Watch. While the CPU on the Series S is on par with the Series X, both its GPU and memory fall short. These deficiencies make it challenging, not just to scale down the resolution but also to maintain the visual integrity of the game.
Puha made an interesting point. On PCs, gamers understand that weaker systems mean compromised visuals and frame rates. But when it comes to consoles, the expectations differ, especially when one looks at the massive chasm between the capabilities of the Series S and Series X GPUs. There’s a clear-cut distinction in power between a $250 Series S and a $500-600 Series X or PS5.
Unsurprisingly, this is a divisive issue. It’s clear now that Microsoft miscalculated in using less RAM for the Series S. It’s a budget-friendly option for consumers, but it’s costing developers more, both in time and resources.
Phil Spencer, the Xbox boss, however, sees a different horizon. For him, the entry-level pricing of the Series S is a boon for the industry. Drawing parallels with Nintendo’s Switch, Spencer believes that having a console under $300 keeps the gaming world inclusive and diverse. But with this inclusivity comes the added challenge of optimization, as reflected in Remedy’s Alan Wake 2 endeavors.
Matt Booty, the head of Xbox Game Studios, admitted that developing for the Series S, along with Series X, PS5, and PC, does entail more work. Yet, he remains optimistic, suggesting that future games would see smoother development, as devs become more attuned to the hardware’s quirks.
Of course, in an ideal world, Xbox will provide studios the necessary resources to help them basically “port” their next-gen games to a weaker console. The same thing happens whenever Nintendo agrees to have a game come over to the Switch platform – they have a dedicated team of experts that work closely together with developers to make sure that the overall experience, while graphically toned down, maintains parity with more powerful consoles.
Even then, we still encounter the occasional slip-up like Mortal Kombat 1, so what more if the studios are left to their own devices?
Alan Wake 2 now joins a growing list of games with missing features on the Series S, and things will only get worse. As more and more studios become vocal about the issues encountered when working on the Xbox variants of their games, the alternative, which is to releasing their games as pseudo PlayStation exclusives, becomes more attractive.
This already happened with Baldur’s Gate 3 earlier this year. As long as Microsoft can’t solve this problem with the Xbox Series S, which is said to make up roughly 70% of all the next-gen Xbox sales, the situation will only get worse.
In a time when inclusivity in gaming is paramount, the Xbox Series S offers an economical gateway to the world of next-gen gaming. Yet, for developers and players alike, it’s a constant juggle between affordability and performance. As we venture further into this console generation, it remains to be seen if the scales will tip in favor of one over the other.
