Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Has Ray Tracing, Real-Time Lighting, and Fast Load Times on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S

After months of rumors, Respawn Entertainment finally unveiled Star Wars Jedi: Survivor at this year’s Star Wars Celebration. It’s a short teaser trailer but showcases the atmosphere that the sequel is going for. Releasing in 2023, it will be available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, skipping previous-gen consoles entirely.

In a recent interview with StarWars.com, director Stig Asmussen was asked how current-gen consoles allowed for expanding or improving on the gameplay. “I think the biggest thing is ray tracing, or lighting. That’s allowing us to do real-time lighting, all the time, at a fidelity that’s well beyond anything that we’ve ever produced before.

“Since it’s real-time, we get to see the changes as we tweak the lights – immediately, essentially. That means that we have more time to polish, that means that we can iterate more, and we can get better results that feel more filmic.” Aside from this, the solid-state drives of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S allow for loading “tons of content really quickly.”

“I’ve always worked on streaming games – games that don’t have load screens,” says Asmussen. “The fact that these consoles have such fast storage has made it even easier. Those are probably the two biggest benefits. PlayStation 5 has some really interesting haptics on their controller that we’re digging into, and it’s just an easier process in general.” Haptic feedback possibly recreating the “hum” of the Lightsaber? We’re all about it.

Asmussen also spoke a bit about the mood of the teaser trailer. The interviewer described it as “mysterious and menacing” and asked if it was a reflection of what’s to come. “Yeah, you nailed it. Right there, that’s the purpose in the tone of it, is to leave the player with a lot of questions but they’re very intrigued. The game is all about survival. That’s why it’s called Jedi: Survivor.

“They are in dark times, and Cal and the crew are doing whatever it takes to stay alive. That might mean that they are making connections with people that, in other times, might be considered unsavory. Some of that is portrayed in the trailer, and again, I don’t want to give anything away, but there’s definitely a sense of…I don’t want to spoil anything, sorry! [Laughs.]”

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor doesn’t have an official release date. However, VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb previously reported that it would launch in February/March next year. Gameplay footage is also expected to be showcased next month, either at the Summer Game Fest or the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.