Wardogs Dev: Xbox Series S Holds Us Back, But Helps Low-End PCs

Ever wondered why Wardogs doesn't have dynamic weather? The dev has a surprising answer: the Xbox Series S. During a press conference for Wardogs Season 2, Bulkhead CEO Joe Brammer admitted the team is "limited" by Microsoft's cheaper console, and that's why you won't see storms rolling in and out mid-match. The new rain feature coming this month? It's a constant downpour from start to finish.

"We are limited, as every dev is, by Xbox Series S," Brammer said. "As great a platform as Xbox is, it's a very low-end hardware for a game like Wardogs." He explained that performance is the reason dynamic weather isn't in the game right now, but added, "we would love to see it at some point. There's an ambition for it, but nobody is working on it right now."

Bulkhead isn't alone here. Moon Studio's Thomas Mahler delayed No Rest for the Wicked's Xbox release earlier this year due to Series S troubles, and Baldur's Gate 3 needed Microsoft's engineers to get split-screen co-op working on the console. The big question for Microsoft has always been whether it would let devs skip Series S entirely—but right now, Xbox mandates that games launch on both Series X and S with feature parity.

Wardogs isn't coming to consoles until 2028, but Bulkhead is already thinking ahead. In a follow-up interview with IGN, studio co-founder Howard Philpott echoed Brammer's concerns but pointed out a silver lining: the Series S forces them to optimize for lower-end PCs. "It is holding back what developers can do in terms of pushing the boundaries," Philpott said. "But at the same time, Series S does actually give us that baseline performance."

That baseline matters because Bulkhead wants everyone to play together. "The goal is to get everyone to be able to play with all of their friends," Philpott added. "There's an obvious financial benefit to that, so it's not completely altruistic, but at the same time, it is the goal." The team also learned a lesson about controller support: after early access launched on PC, a massive outcry for controller support forced them to retrofit systems. Senior producer Kane Allard called it "a little bit of a slog" that "burned us a bit," and now they're building everything with console and controller in mind.

They even hired a pro Halo player to help with controller support. Wardogs Season 2 launches next week on October 15. Will you be picking it up?