Call of Duty: Ghosts runs at 1080p and 60fps on Xbox One and PS4
Won't make use of always-online, though.
Call of Duty: Ghosts runs at 1080p resolution on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Infinity Ward has said.
That's while retaining the shooter series' trademark super smooth 60 frames per second visuals.
Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin told Eurogamer for Ghosts the priority was to have the game, built on an improved version of Infinity Ward's existing engine, run at 60fps across all platforms, then build from there.
"We're always so focused there anyway," he said. "It maybe wasn't a challenge as it is for some people. For us it's so ingrained in the way we make our games that it just happens that way. We have a game that runs at 60 frames a second, we start putting stuff in and if something starts to affect that we'll either tweak it or take it out.
"The console versions are still in severe development, but it looks good so far. We actually have a 4K TV at work and got the game running on that. It looks phenomenal. The 4K TVs have a max hertz of 30, so we're maxing it out. It looks amazing!"
Despite achieving 1080p at 60fps on next-gen consoles, Rubin insisted Infinity Ward's focus with Ghosts was on the "fun" - not advanced tech features. We've already heard Infinity Ward discuss how the extra processing power of the next-gen consoles has made for improved visuals, but in terms of AI, for example, it looks like the studio is taking a more general approach.
"There's more processing power," Rubin said. "There's definitely the tech advantages of next-gen consoles, but from our perspective our primary concern when it comes to single-player especially when you have AI is telling a good story.
"We've always as a studio, and I go back to COD2 and COD4 days, took our inspiration from movies, not from other games. It's pretty well known, Call of Duty is that cinematic experience. We've always focused more on the cinematic value. For this game that's the case as well.
"But the next-gen consoles do allow us to do some things with AI. It's more situational than just saying AI in general - that's such a blanket term. We're able to create more new and interesting situations that maybe we haven't seen before."
During a behind closed door demo of Ghosts Rubin showed us a stealth-focused level called Federation Day, set in Caracas, Venezuela. In it the player character and his two soldier mates abseil down a skyscraper while hundreds of people party in the brightly-lit streets below. You shoot unsuspecting soldiers from outside the building glass before heading inside to mess with a computer. Then, predictably, explosions begin and the skyscraper collapses with you and your buddies inside.
Rubin confirmed Ghosts' mystery enemy is a collective of South American countries, as Federation Day implies. The near future story posits that the oil resources of South America meant the region became the new superpower, with the US and other previously powerful countries downtrodden. The player, as part of the Ghosts team of highly trained soldiers, leads the fightback after some catastrophic event.
"I'll be the first to admit, we're not the tech chasers."
Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin.
Besides the increased power of the Xbox One and PS4 over their predecessors, both Microsoft and Sony have touted the always-online functionality of their next-gen consoles. Some developers, such as Assassin's Creed 4 maker Ubisoft Montreal, are already taking advantage of this constant connectivity to add mechanics and features into their games, but Rubin said Infinity Ward is taking a wait and see approach, and confirmed that Ghosts won't make use of always-online.
"It's not really something we would explore just yet," he said. "I'll be the first to admit, we're not the tech chasers. We've never been the most hi-tech, super graphics check-box list guys. We try to make fun first. Then if tech helps make fun better then great. If not then we don't really need it."
"There's interesting stuff out there," Rubin continued. "I'm totally engaged as a developer in what we could possibly do. But we're going to take it safe and make sure it's actually benefiting the game first before we just go check that box."
Meanwhile, Rubin teased a Wii U version of Ghosts is indeed in the works, despite Nintendo's console being absent from the game's list of announced platforms. "Stay tuned," he said.