Why Gears of War 4 Will Look Incredible on Xbox One and PC, According to Microsoft

At E3 2016, Microsoft confirmed that Xbox One shooter Gears of War 4 is also coming to PC. Now, developer The Coalition has talked a bit more about the kind of visual experience people can expect from both versions of the game.

In an interview with Epic Games at E3 (via DualShockers), The Coalition technical director Mike Rayner talked about the benefits of working with Epic's Unreal Engine 4.

"One of the big advantages we have with Unreal Engine 4 is it is a cross-platform engine," he explained. "So when we build our game, we're testing it on Windows, we're running on Xbox One, and we're always keeping the game running on both platforms at all times."

Rayner added that developer The Coalition is hoping to deliver the "best PC gaming experience" for Gears of War 4. The studio is targeting the most high-end hardware, but the game will also run capably on a mid-spec setup, he said.

Gallery

On console, Rayner said Gears of War 4 aims to be a "visual showcase."

"And then on Xbox One, we put a lot of effort into really pushing the hardware to deliver the visual showcase that Gears is known for," he explained.

Also in the interview, Rayner talked about how Gears of War 4's use of DirectX 12 benefits both versions of the game. He also discussed the visual benchmarks for the game, including 4K on PC (for computers that can support it) and 1080p on Xbox One.

"It removes a number of layers between the client application and the graphics hardware," he said. "It really allows us to push the visuals and get the most optimal performance. Then carrying that over to PC, it lets us drive to higher frame rates and push the game as far as possible.

"One thing we were able to do with Gears of War 4, is we've authored all the content in 4K resolution, so on Windows 10, if you've got a system that can support it, you're going to get high-res texture packs," he added. "You're gonna get a premium, 4K visual experience. And on Xbox One, we've totally optimized it for 1080p."

Gears of War 4 launches on October 11. It is a Play Anywhere title, which means if you buy it digitally on Xbox One, you get the PC version free and vice versa.