Of all the big MMOs coming in the near future, Dune Awakens seems to be one of the most graphically intensive. Plus, with its focus on the server grid, and the vast open desert that hosts massive PvP battles, it’s set to give it a real look.
That’s great news for those of us with powerful rigs, but it also means a lot of time is spent making sure the game runs on hardware of various power levels. Heading into Xbox Series S – where the game will still release with PlayStation 5 and PC – chief product officer Scott Junior said it’s a “challenge.”
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“So, that’s one of the reasons why we launched on PC first. We need to do a lot of optimization before launching on Xbox. However, Xbox Series S is a challenge.” Junior said in an interview at Gamescom 2024 late last month . Junior also gave an insight into some of the key points during the ongoing closed beta testing, saying that a lot of time has been spent ensuring that the game can run on a variety of machines with different hardware specifications.
“Unreal did a lot of the work for us in some aspects. It was more about optimizing resources and using various techniques, whether it was FSR or other techniques to replicate frames. We wanted the game to look stunning in high light – over , whether you have a 3070 or a 4090, but we also want it to look good… I don’t think we’ve released our minimum specs yet, but you know a powerful card from a few years ago should be able to run games, and it should look good – It can’t take advantage of the over-spec options, but it still looks good.
However, given the ambitious level of scale the game is aiming for, we asked Junior if, even with all the work it’s done on the optimization front, it’s still going to be demanding on lower-spec machines. His response was optimistic. “Yes, yes, it is. But it still performs well on years-old hardware. We can do it!”
If you want to get into Dune Awakening and test the game out for yourself, Junior says the number of new players will increase significantly in the coming months. Testing so far has apparently been conducted with a “core player base” in mind, but future tests are designed to push the limits of player limits on the game’s servers.
“Our next beta is designed to competitively max out a world and then test it from the beginning to the end at our maximum number of concurrent users.” Junior was tight-lipped about the public beta of Dune Awakening, but said that invites will increase significantly in the months leading up to Dune Awakening’s early 2025 release window.
Are you excited for Dune Awakening? Let us know below and which platform you plan to play the game on.
