Battlefield 6 development on Xbox Series S made the “whole game better and more stable” — DICE focuses on optimization

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Recently, Kotaku spoke with the developers of Battlefield 6 (DICE) about bringing the game to different consoles. Christian Buhl, the game’s technical director, explained that managing memory was a major hurdle. He noted that the Xbox Series S has less memory than even a typical mid-range gaming PC, and about 6 to 12 months ago, they discovered many of their levels were causing crashes on that console.

Following code review and improvements to Battlefield 6 and its Frostbite engine, Buhl explained that these changes resulted in a smoother, more reliable game for everyone.

I was really impressed with how well Battlefield 6 ran during my hands-on time with it – it was one of the smoothest AAA games I’ve played lately. I tested it on both Xbox and PC, and it performed surprisingly well, especially since it was still months before the official launch. Maybe the Xbox Series S deserves some credit for that!

Recent Battlefield games, like Battlefield 5 and 2042, have had trouble with performance when they first launched. However, with Vince Zampella now leading the development, it appears that DICE is experiencing a much more stable and successful development process.

[Development on Xbox Series S made the] whole game better and more stable.

Christian Buhl

Buhl explained, “We did a lot of testing and gathered a lot of data. After running all the game levels through the data analysis for a couple of months, we were able to identify and fix all the memory-related problems on the Series S console.”

Xbox Series S development across the years

Ever since the Xbox Series S was announced, developers have been openly discussing its creation – sharing both praise and criticism about the console’s development process.

Baldur’s Gate 3 faced some challenges during its development, which ultimately led to a delay in its release. One major problem was implementing splitscreen cooperative gameplay; it caused so many issues that Microsoft allowed the developers to remove it from the game. This made Baldur’s Gate 3 the first game where the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S versions didn’t have the same features. However, it was eventually released!

The developers of Black Myth: Wukong initially expressed doubts about releasing the game on Xbox, stating that adapting it for the Series S console would be a lengthy process, potentially taking years. However, they managed to release the game on Xbox just one year after its launch on PlayStation 5 and Windows PC, proving there was no exclusivity agreement in place.

Across the aisle, other developers have praised the console’s development.

IO Interactive reported a smooth development process for the Series S, with no major hurdles. The producer of Evil West also confirmed the console didn’t hinder their work and praised the Xbox Series S as a successful product for the market.

I’ve noticed that even the developers at Double Elven, who work on console games, have said the Series S is a good console for people just getting into gaming. It’s interesting, though, because most of the attention the Series S gets seems to be negative news and criticism.

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2025-09-15 14:41