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Jedi survivor‘s game director has told us exactly why the upcoming title will not be available on last-gen consoles.
Star Wars Jedi Survivor is a Souls-like action game in George Lucas’s classic setting that follows the trials of Jedi-in-exile Cal Kestis. The sci-fi space wizardry simulator comes out on April 28, so it won’t be long before we get our hands on the title.
Respawn Entertainment won’t bless every console with more Star Wars goodness, though. Forward Jedi survivor‘s release, game director Stig Asmussen explained why the title is not coming to PS4 and Xbox One.
In an interview with PLAY magazine, Asmussen made his case: “Basically, we quickly learned that we could take advantage of the faster processors, bigger/faster memory, better load times, etc., to make much bigger maps, with more detail. greater density, wider enemy/NPC variety, and overall fidelity” (via MP1ST (opens in new tab)).
He continued, “We didn’t want to break from what we did in the first game because it was well received, but we wanted to develop/improve the experience.”
Although he doesn’t say it outright, it’s implied here that previous generation consoles wouldn’t have facilitated the evolution and improvement that Asmussen and his team have sought with Jedi survivor. Indeed, the developer assured us that “[we’ll] experience the benefit of the more powerful hardware everywhere [the game].”
A more civilized age
Jedi survivorThe move from last-gen consoles is indicative of a trend we’ve seen in more than a few high-profile 2023 releases. The Empty space redo, To leave, and bizarre adventure game where monsters are killed Wild hearts have all eschewed last-generation consoles.
This step has certainly been a long time coming. The Xbox One is coming up on its 10th birthday, just like the PS4. To say these venerable machines are long in the tooth is an understatement. In October 2022, Sony committed to “not forgetting the millions of active players on PS4” (through Axis (opens in new tab)). However, it seems that older hardware simply can’t keep up with the demands of modern titles.
One of the louder signs of this phenomenon came back in 2020 with the release of Cyberpunk 2077. While bugs riddled the highly anticipated sci-fi RPG across all platforms, the last generation of console releases have been especially janky. These mistakes forced PlayStation to pull Cyberpunk 2077 previously from the PlayStation Store finally back it in 2021.
The fact that the PS4 edition of Cyberpunk 2077 was in such bad shape that Sony had to remove it from their store speaks volumes about the behind-the-scenes demands placed on developers’ expectation of last-gen compatibility. I hope that by moving away from the PS4 and Xbox One, developers can save themselves the trouble of optimizing their titles for venerable hardware.
However, in the context of the UK’s cost of living crisis and global economic uncertainty, I fear this trend will exclude gamers who simply cannot afford the latest hardware. As Xbox’s Phil Spencer himself said, “we’re not food or shelter.” Xbox and Sony need to be careful about phasing out last-generation machines or alienate players who can’t afford the latest gadgets thanks to rising inflation and stagnant real wages (through the living wage committee).
While it’s always sad to see beloved consoles relegated to the annals of history, the PS4 and Xbox One have more than done their time. After almost 10 years of loyal service, these tough workhorses have more than earned their rest. The question remains, however, whether we are willing to let them go.