Summary
A formerSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguedeveloper has lambasted the game optimization process for theXbox Series S, calling it “annoying” and wishing the console “never existed.” This statement comes in the wake of the numerous game delays on Xbox consoles in recent memory, and complaints about working on theXbox Series Sfrom some developers.
The Xbox Series S launched alongside the Series X in holiday 2020 as a less powerful, budget-oriented current-generation console. Compared to the Series X’s $499 price point, the $299 price tag of the Series S was made possible by shedding the disc drive, offering half the storage, and utilizing a smaller chipset that was 65-70% less performant on paper, but retained the same feature set as its more powerful sibling. However, thelongevity of the Xbox Series Shas been a matter of heated debate ever since its reveal, as many believe the hardware acts as another lowest denominator that game developers have to worry about.
Game developers mostly aren’t at liberty to speak about their experiences developing for certain platforms, but a handful have expressed concerns about the Xbox Series S over the years. Joining their ranks is former Naughty Dog, Respawn, and Rocksteady principal artist Del Walker, who last lent his talents toSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Responding to a tweet about Xbox’s recent misfortunes, includingBlack Myth Wukong’s delayed launch on Xbox consoles, Walker supposedly blamed the Series S as the reason behind the delay.
The developer scathingly asserted that the Series S is “annoying to optimize for,” and that he expects more such delays in the future and games outright skipping the Xbox platform due to the budget console’s optimization woes. Although a bit acrimonious, Walker’s comments are rooted in some verity, as 2023 Game of the Year winnerBaldur’s Gate 3also had to postpone its Xbox launchdue to issues with optimizing split-screen co-op for the Series S. Microsoft eventually allowed Larian to drop the feature for the Xbox Series S entirely, which stands as a rare case of a developer superseding the feature parity rule for Series X/S.
Despite theBaldur’s Gate 3delay, though,Larian Studios CEO Swen Vincke defended the Series Sand said that the budget Xbox console is no less burdensome to support than the Steam Deck handheld gaming PC. Therefore, it’s a bit difficult to pin down whether the Series S is a liability for game developers, or if they see it as just another hardware configuration among the staggering breadth of existing ones they already have to optimize for.
