Are you not entertained? Well, chances are good that you will be by the time you’ve read this. The Xbox One ‘exclusive’ Ryse: Son of Rome has been confirmed by Crytek to be PC bound this year.
Crytek will be publishing the digital release for themselves. There will be a boxed retail version (for the three people who buy boxed PC games now), but this will be taken care of by Deep Silver on Crytek’s behalf.
All of the previously released DLC packs for the Xbox One version of Ryse: Son of Rome will be included for the PC, and of course the PC version is limited by resolution… 4K resolution that is.
The business development chief over at Crytek, Carl Jones had the following to say on the mater. “4K gaming is another leap in graphics quality for PC gamers and Ryse is the perfect showcase for what’s now possible in high-end PC games.”
Adding a little insult to the injury, Carl Jones continued: “We’ve given our team the opportunity to show what CryEngine can really achieve, without compromising quality, thanks to the incredible hardware available now to PC gamers.”
We’ve long suspected the Xbox One held back the graphics Crytek were aiming for with Ryse Son of Rome (remember all of the downgrade arguments prior to launch?) so with that said, Carl Jones finished by saying “Ryse will be a benchmark PC graphics showcase this year and probably for a long time in future. Our community asked for a Ryse PC version, and we have the means and technology to deliver this title with the highest quality possible.”
As we hinted at earlier, you’ll be the proud owner of all of the DLC too. This DLC includes the Colosseum Pack, the Mars’ Chosen Pack, the Duel of Fates Pack and the Morituri Pack.
For those of you who care about multiplayer, the PC version of Son of Rome also gives you the Ruins multiplayer map, and for extra stabby goodness you’ll be the proud owner of the Legionnaire’s Trust sword, previously available only with a special edition version of the game.
From what we understand, Microsoft were trying to secure the rights to Ryse 2, but it didn’t go through as Microsoft wanted to be granted rights to the franchise and Crytek weren’t willing to go that far.
Crytek have been in a spot of bother recently when it comes to cash, so it makes a great deal of sense to release the title on the PC. The bottom line is – releasing on the Xbox One wasn’t a lucrative deal for them.
I’ve little doubt Microsoft aren’t too happy about this – truthfully speaking it takes away another of their ‘exclusive games for their next generation platform. Hardly a good thing while their own hardware sales figures aren’t what you could call stellar.
For PC gamer’s however, Ryse: Son of Rome is on the way – and you know what? I for one look forward to trying out the title and performing some comparisons and analysis versus its Xbox One iteration.
So come on CryEngine, let’s see just what you can do… WE PC GAMER’S WANT TO BE ENTERTAINED!
