Crytek: All hardware has limitations

All hardware has limitations, Crysis and Ryse: Son of Rome developer Crytek has said. Design director PJ Estevez told OXM that in the wake of the high-profile 1080p vs 720p Call of Duty: Ghosts story, all projects must make trade-offs when working with new hardware.

"Definitely," Estevez said. "I mean honestly, the truth is, it doesn't matter what generation you're developing for, you'll always have constraints. And I think, you know, the thing we were fortunate about is we had a great partner in Microsoft in getting the hardware, and kind of really digging into it, and having a back and forth dialogue."

Ryse: Son of Rome will be released for Xbox One as a launch title on November 22, running in 900p, upscaled to 1080p. That lower resolution rate fit Crytek's ambition for Ryse: Son of Rome, Estevez said, because it allowed the developer to focus on improving other areas of the game.

"When it comes down to it, every project has their own cross to bear, and you've got to figure out what you want to do and what's the best way to use the tech," Estevez said.

The power of the Xbox One allowed Crytek to create assets that are so believable that players will remain engaged in the world, Estevez said.

"I think we've crossed the line from making video game art to just making really beautiful art," he said. "Because everything is so high-res, you're not pulled out of that experience, you really feel like 'holy crap this world is amazing, it's really alive,' you know."

For more on Ryse: Son of Rome, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

The fact that Call of Duty: Ghosts runs natively at 1080p on PlayStation 4, while the Xbox One versions runs at 720p (upscaled to 1080p) has drawn much discussion and debate about the importance of resolution since the announcement was made last week. Developer Infinity Ward has not explained why specifically the resolutions differ from platform to platform.

However, executive producer Mark Rubin told GameSpot this week, "The differences are probably more subtle than some people would notice, but some people will notice. It's such a hard thing to talk about."