Xbox Series S is “a Challenge We’re Glad to Face”

The Xbox Series S’ value from a consumers’ perspective cannot be discounted, but at the same time, more than a few developers have raised issues with its weaker hardware since its launch in 2020. Some have argued that the weaker spec console is holding back the current generation of game development, while Microsoft, on the other hand, has argued that that’s very much not the case.

Developers have obviously fallen on different parts of the spectrum where this argument is concerned, and one studio that’s more than happy to meet the challenges of optimizing for the Xbox Series S is Road Studio, developer of the upcoming Alaskan Road Truckers.

In a recent interview with GamingBolt, when asked about the top of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X – specifically, the differences in their GPUs – Road Studio CEO Michal Puczynski said that both consoles come with their own unique “challenges and opportunities”, the Xbox Series S being one of them where development for Xbox is concerned. But though it is a challenge, Puczynski says it’s one the studio is glad to face.”

“Reducing consoles to teraflops really does not do them any justice. You can’t contain their complexity in a single number. They come with their own challenges and opportunities. For example, Xbox comes in two variants – S and X – which you need to optimize for. Both Xbox and PS5 also have unique features that are supplementary to the games but also expected or at least recommended by the platforms, and you need to develop them. However, at the same time, both come with unique opportunities and are great platforms to develop on. For us, the biggest challenge is the Xbox Series S, but it’s a challenge we’re glad to face.”

The conversation surrounding the Xbox Series S has flared up again in recent weeks, with Larian Studios having stated that Baldur’s Gate 3’s Xbox launch had been delayed, due to technical difficulties being faced by the studio in getting splitscreen co-op optimized for the weaker console. Recently, however, Larian confirmed that the acclaimed RPG will launch for Xbox Series X/S in 2023 itself, with the Series S version dropping support for local co-op.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has also recently spoken on the topic, and said that he “doesn’t see a world” where the company drops support for the Xbox Series S.

Alaskan Road Truckers is set to launch for PC on October 18. PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions are also in the works.