Next Gen Console SSDs Will Enable Games To Do More With Faster Load Times, Dev Says

Game developers are excited about the potential of next-generation console hardware, and as we get closer to seeing the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 become a reality, devs are giving us more detail about what those upgrades actually mean.

In an interview with Wccftech, game director Stuart Tilley of Firesprite, the studio behind horror game The Persistence, talked about what the SSD technology--and its faster load times--means for games developed on next-gen consoles.

"The SSD is going to be massive to allow us to create larger worlds that load faster, to move quicker within them. It opens up possibilities for us," Tilley said. "The new positional sound stuff is great for like, for games, being able to like play sound effects that feel like they're around you while you're on the couch, it's gonna make another big improvement."

He also mentioned how existing console technology would sometimes result in a game's features being scaled back for the sake of a more bearable load time--something that will happen less with the new systems.

"It just is super exciting for us to be able to make our ambitions greater, sometimes you might have to discard a feature because it might require a long load, for example," he explains. "Now, in the future, that may not be a problem."

Microsoft is starting to reveal more details about the Xbox Series X, starting with the first of a number of planned monthly Xbox 20/20 streams. Sony is being a little more secretive with the PlayStation 5, without even a hint of what the console looks like, but we do have some info on what it'll be able to do. Neither has a confirmed release date yet.