In the sea of ever-evolving MMORPGs, Albion Online lives by its own code. The medieval fantasy game has quietly racked up millions of players in the course of a decade, and that’s without even touching the hundreds of millions of gamers on consoles, until now. Sandbox Interactive, the creators behind the hit online sandbox, are finally opening the floodgates to console owners with the launch of Albion Online on Xbox Series X/S today. Ahead of its highly anticipated release on consoles for the first time, Gamewatcher had a chance to speak with Christoph Hombergs, Operations Director at Sandbox, to hear about the why and how behind the game’s console offering.
The Xbox version comes on the heels of Albion Online’s Radiant Wilds update, along with the launch of Guild season 32, both collectively bringing a visual overhaul, improved systems and performance improvements. However, the Xbox version is no simple port. Until now, the game had found a home on PC and mobile, with wildly different control schemes. The Xbox version, which may pave the way for other console ports, radically changes how players control their characters.
“There was always a synergy between the Xbox launch and the Radiant Wilds update,” said Hombergs. “Controller improvements, for example, were definitely driven with Xbox in mind, but they affect players on all of our platforms who use controller. Going the other way, the visual overhaul that came with Radiant Wilds was also intended to present Xbox players with a fresh, immersive world to step into. So in many ways they were linked from the get-go.”
Those who log in to the game on Xbox can link their existing Albion Online account, and there are other comforts players enjoy, such as cross-play and cross-progression. Some games bridge the PC/console and mobile ports to keep things fair, but Sandbox Interactive wants to create a cohesive experience.
“Full cross-platform play has been at the core of the game’s philosophy from the start, and that informed this development,” said Hombergs when asked if Xbox players will be at a disadvantage facing off PC players.“That’s why we’ve worked so hard on things like targeting in combat, and UI navigation flows, because these are key elements of the Albion Online experience. We want console play to feel smooth even for experienced, high-end players, and we’re confident that the work we’ve put into that has paid off.”
However, if you’re finding it hard to move away from the keyboard and mouse, you can rest easy as Albion Online’s Xbox version includes KBM support. While PC players can hit specific keys for fast communication, Xbox players can use radial menus not too dissimilar from the console port of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Of course, the influx of new players is bound to tip the scales of the player-driven economy. Sandbox is prepared to take the hit, and is fully prepared to welcome millions of new players. It isn’t new territory for them, as the developer previously saw massive swaths of new players when the game launched its Asia and Europe servers.
Players starting their adventure on Xbox will also be treated with new visuals bringing the game up to modern standards. A visual overhaul for a massively multiplayer game is always risky, as they pose the threat of upending performance on lower-end hardware. Given that the game is also available on mobile, Sandbox had to carefully balance its ambitions against hardware limitations. Fortunately, the developer was up to the ask, though the journey had its fair share of challenges.
“We wanted the game to feel more detailed and immersive without losing its readability, demanding more of people’s devices, or losing the characteristic Albion style that our community enjoys,” added Hombergs.
“In the end, it was a painstaking, iterative process to ensure that all visual elements had that balance. We spent a great deal of time getting water just right, so that it feels real and alive but very much a part of its broader environment. Likewise ground textures for each biome, and the cloud shadows that you can now see on the ground. So in a sense, what you mentioned in your question was the challenge, taking our time to find that balance.”
Albion Online entered PC Game Pass last year, and the team has chosen to keep supporting subscribers with new goodies. Those subscribed to Xbox Game Pass can avail additional in-game benefits in Albion Online, including Vanity bundles, extra Insight, more Victory Emote charges, extra Scrolls of Fame, and more rewards every month following its launch. If you own a console from Sony or Nintendo, don’t fret as Sandbox hasn’t ruled out more console ports down the line.
Albion Online is available on PC, Mac, Android, iOS, and Xbox Series X/S.
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