killer-instinct

Xbox One’s cloud is one of the next generation system’s most-touted features and more details on how developers will utilize the cloud to improve their game titles are constantly being announced. The most recent revelation comes from Double Helix for its upcoming Xbox One launch title Killer Instinct. Instead of releasing constant patches for the title, as was standard on the Xbox 360, Double Helix will use the cloud to maintain character statistics for the title in order to maintain balance, a crucial aspect of any fighting title.

This announcement means that any tweaks to character performance will happen in the background, so players won’t be constantly hit with new downloads while the developers seek to fine-tune the fighters to perfection in Killer Instinct. Although technically this is not an entirely new practice (EA Sports games and Call of Duty titles have been constantly tweaking gameplay in the background without too many constant intrusive updates), the Xbox One cloud makes this kind of on-the-fly updating easily accessible to a larger number of developers.

It is also important to note that while character statistics are maintained in the cloud, Killer Instinct players will still be required to download larger game updates on occasion as new content is added to the title post-launch. Torin Rettig, the producer of Killer Instinct, also mentioned in an interview with Game Informer that even though the cloud allows for constant updates, Double Helix will not abuse the ability to do so, focusing on only making changes necessary to maintaining balance between the various characters.

Sources: Game Informer