Recently, we got the chance to hip-shot some questions to TJ Wagner, Executive producer World of Tanks Console, about the game’s new release on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X platforms.
TJ Wagner’s Avatar
Q.) Can you tell us about some of the challenges encountered in bringing World of Tanks to the PS5 and Xbox Series X?
TJ.) Generally it’s learning the ins and outs of early prototype hardware and software, which is always challenging on one side and rewarding on the other side. Getting the game compiling and running on the new hardware and working through bugs is a huge chuck of the work, but seeing the final result in its full glory is something worth the early days hard work.
Q.) What kind of benefits has each of the new gaming platforms offered to World of Tanks and its players?
TJ.) I think this generation is more similar than previous ones. The game runs at 60FPS now for a silky smooth experience. As Load times are less than half of current generation consoles, it is a great fact for any of our passionate players, as they can rush into their beloved battles even faster and can get more of their favorite free to play game. New players can investigate the game faster and witness less loading times, which also is a great benefit for a bit less patient new players.
Q.) How long did it take for the team to fully convert the game code to run on the new platforms?
TJ.) We received early hardware at the beginning of the year, experimented with it for the first weeks. As we are continuously working on enhancement and additional content for World of Tanks on Console, we had to manage the workflow for the ongoing 2020 projects (Season 1 WWE or Season 2 Hotwheels as an example), and in the same time assure the quality for Tanks on PS5 and XSX Wargaming wants to deliver.
Q.) Looking down the road, do you foresee World of Tanks utilizing any new technologies or features not yet seen on the new consoles?
TJ.) For sure we will be experimenting with hardware ray tracing when that’s available in the near future. There’s a number of advance rendering and lighting techniques we will be experimenting with and our players can be assured that we are trying our very best, to implement into their new consoles, when the quality befits our expectations.
Q.) As crazy as this might be, idea-wise, would it be possible to create a VR version of world of tanks seen from the commander seats of the various vehicles? You’d lose some situational awareness, but the immersion would be pretty incredible.
TJ.) Not crazy at all, our friends from Neurogaming have already done that (but based on the PC version) and there is a Hologate version of World of Tanks in several arcade halls as well: https://wargaming.com/en/news/neurogaming-wot-vr/
https://www.hologate.com/games/world-of-tanks-vr/
Q.) Is there anything else you’d like to let our readers know about World of Tanks running on the new PS5 and Xbox Series X platforms?
TJ.) You will find it is the best World of Tanks experience yet. 60FPS, higher resolution models and textures, faster load times and low latency control makes for the perfect Tanking experience on your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series S/X. We are working hard on enhancing this with several updates in the upcoming weeks and I can tease already a really big update coming soon with features, we keep for a reason. Download World of Tanks for free and give it a try – you will not regret it!
Once again, we’d like to thank Wargaming’s TJ Wagner for taking the time to answer these questions. World of Tanks Console is out now on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 platforms!
