Alan Wake 2 is one of the most highly anticipated games coming next month, which is already loaded with hot releases. Remedy Entertainment has some good news for gamers as the studio announces that Alan Wake 2 will not be capped at 30 frames per second.
The Finnish video game developer revealed that console versions of Alan Wake 2 will have a Performance mode that increases frame rates in consoles even with hardware limitations. Remedy’s communications director Thomas Puha says that while the game was originally designed to be run at 30 FPS, the studio is giving players the option to play the game at a higher frame rate.
“I’m glad to say that Alan Wake 2 will have a Performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X,” Puha posted on Twitter. “The game has been built from the beginning as a 30fps experience focusing on visuals and ambiance, but somehow we have managed to include a solid Performance mode.”
“Our Northlight engine scales well in this case though, lower resolution yet the game looks amazing. One of the big challenges from a performance standpoint on the Saga side is that the Pacific Northwest has a lot of foliage, trees, (transparent objects), expensive lighting (that looks amazing) amongst many other features that make it really challenging on the framerate.”
One user asked if the Performance mode caps the frame rate at 60 FPS and reduces graphical fidelity to compensate for the increased performance or if the mode just gets rid of the 30 FPS limit, with 60FPS being the best-case scenario.
“Still tweaking that,” Puha responded.
Frame rate has been a controversial topic recently, with AAA titles like Redfall and Starfield opting for 30 FPS at launch for consoles. Many players feel that consoles like the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 are powerful enough to run on ultra graphics settings at 60 FPS. Gamers also prefer 60 FPS – or more – for shooters and action-adventure games.
Both Redfall and Starfield received backlash when it was announced that the games were capped at 30 FPS on consoles. Arkane Studios promised a performance mode for Redfall while Bethesda defended its choice to cap Starfield at 30 FPS. The Performance mode for Redfall still hasn’t been released yet.
Many developers have opted to include Performance mode in their newest titles. Insomniac’s Marvel Spider-Man 2 has a Performance Mode that targets 60 FPS at 1440P with full ray tracing by default. “Our performance mode for this title has ray tracing on by default. We’ve really expanded ray-traced reflections throughout the game. It’s on the water and the oceans and really gives a more realistic picture everywhere,” Mike Fitzgerald, Director of Core Technology, explained to IGN.
Alan Wake 2 is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on October 27, 2023.
