Though Epic Games' hit battle royaleFortnitecame into its own during the PS4 and Xbox One era, it has now transitioned to Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X as a launch title for the next-gen consoles.Fortniteon PS5 takes advantage of its DualSense controller, as well as its advanced technical specs, but according to Epic Games the Xbox Series X may eventually allow the game to hit 120 FPS.
Xbox Wire released an interview with Epic Games Lead Console Programmer Ben Woodhouse today, who said the development team was excited to use the extra horsepower of next-gen hardware to “make the game feel more alive,” using features like volumetric clouds, GPU simulated physics fields, and fluid simulators. They also worked tooptimize loading through the consoles' solid-state drives, improve shaders, and more while making frame drops “rarer” in the 60 FPS Battle Royale mode.
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Woodhouse said that split-screen gameplay and Save the World mode can now both run at a “solid 60 FPS” on Xbox Series X, which can also output 4K - though the Xbox Series S only targets 1080p. However, the programmer said future projects include boosting visuals and reducing latency, while the team “may also look at supporting a 120 FPS mode.” This may depend on what’s possible afterFortnitemigrates onto Unreal Engine 5 in 2021.
Though Woodhouse goes into more detail about all the minute technical details of howFortniteis better on next-gen tech, one key takeaway for developers is that, “Microsoft made the transition very easy for us.” Despite some “rough edges,” he said the overall development tools are familiar to what was used on Xbox One, and common code across console generations should make it easier for players to upgrade as well.
Future enhancements to graphics and performance are just one aspect ofFortnite’s development shifting onto next-gen hardware, as Woodhouse said it is a “constantly evolving game that never stands still.” This goes for the goodies players get to utilize in-game as well, with a newFortnitecosmetic set based on Marvel’s Black Widow leakingas part of the battle royale’s ongoing Nexus War season of content.
While the next-gen console launches seem to have gone well for Epic Games, the developer has had trouble with other platforms as of late. Apple and Google pulledFortnitefrom their stores after Epic Games purportedly violated Terms of Service through microtransaction policies. The legal battle has continued for months, with Federal District Judge Yvonne Gonzales Rogers recentlythrowing out Apple’s claims of theft against Epic Games.
Fortniteis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
