Scorn developer will only include ray-tracing if it doesn't sacrifice performance

The Xbox Series X exclusive Scorn may be a visual powerhouse for next-gen gaming, but the hardware-intensive ray-tracing lighting will only be included if it doesn’t sacrifice the game’s 60fps performance target.

Scorn game director Ljubomir Peklar told us that, while the developer is currently experimenting internally with ray-tracing for ambient occlusion and shadows on Xbox Series X, the next-gen lighting setup will not be included if it botches performance.

“We are experimenting with using some aspects of ray-tracing for AO (ambient occlusion), or shadows, but only if it doesn’t interfere with running the game smoothly in the end,” Peklar told us.

As it stands, developer Ebb Software respects the ease of development ray-tracing brings, but with years of development going into faking the results ray-tracing brings, it doesn’t seem “revolutionary”.

“Real time ray-tracing is a great feature, and it’s certainly the future when it comes to games, but we have developed so many good techniques to fake the results it’s really hard for ray-tracing to create a revolutionary impact,” Peklar told us. “When the technology matures it will certainly ease the process of development when it comes to the whole lighting set up.”

Scorn was definitely one of the greatest looking games to be revealed at Microsoft’s recent Inside Xbox livestream. If you want to hear our thoughts on the livestream, you can listen to the maiden voyage of the MSPoweruser Gamescast right here.