Hawken Developer Sees Difficulties for Future Console Transition

Hawken, the mech-based shooter from developer Adhesive Games and publisher Meteor Entertainment, is now in open beta on the PC, but the two companies believe that a launch on the current or the next generation of home consoles might prove difficult.

Mark Long, the chief executive officer at Meteor, tells PCGamesN that the big problems with console launches are the way developers need to deal with the platform creators.

He says, “You have to pay Microsoft and Sony ten or twenty thousand dollars every single time you want to patch your game. So what happens is that you try and load your patch. You end up waiting and waiting through weeks of pain while the players are telling you, this is crashed and breaking, but you just want to make sure you capture everything.”

It’s unclear whether the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 could also offer the hardware power required to run Hawken, an Unreal Engine 3 powered title that can deliver some impressive visuals.

Neither Sony nor Microsoft have yet revealed their actual plans for a new generation of home consoles but gamers are expected to hear official news before E3 2013 and see an actual launch before Christmas next year.

The new devices will offer more computing power and rumors are also suggesting everything from better integration for motion control to a new type of digital distribution model.

Hawken is designed as a game that’s both accessible and deep, with players able to just jump in and then play a quick match or invest time and resources in order to customize their mech and then collaborate with friends in larger battles.

At the moment, Hawken is in open beta and Meteor Entertainment has not yet said when it plans to officially launch the game.