Crackdown 3 developer Reagent Games has discussed the challenge it faces from internet service providers (ISPs) when trying to deliver its large-scale destruction gameplay.
The upcoming sequel allows players to level destroy buildings and level entire city blocks using their arsenal of weaponry. In order to achieve this, the game offloads the calculations to Microsoft's cloud servers, thus allowing the use of processing power far in excess of what the Xbox One can provide.
Speaking to Game Informer, however, Microsoft Studios' global publishing general manager Shannon Loftis indicated the information sent from Microsoft's cloud servers to a person's game could be changed.
"We can ensure that what leaves the data center is in a particular state, but not what happens between then and when it gets to people's houses," she explained.
According to Loftis, the game will attempt to syncronise data to ensure the gameplay experience isn't negatively impacted. She said: "There's code on the client side that ensures that all the instances stay synced and that you're seeing what I see and that it all runs smoothly."
At Gamescom 2015, it was revealed that Crackdown's cloud-based destruction technology means it's a multiplayer-only feature.
"Yes, (destruction is) exclusive to the multiplayer mode," said Reagent's Dave Jones. "You have to be online for multiplayer, and at that point we can connect to the cloud and really expand the experience."
"You can't (destroy buildings in single-player), and in some respects that goes against the grain of what Crackdown is," he added. "You're meant to be saving the city, so we really wanted to create a new multiplayer experience that bent that."
Crackdown 3's release date has been narrowed it down to summer 2016. Microsoft has clarified that the entirety of the game won't be available at that time, however. Instead, just the multiplayer will be playable in that window. It remains unclear whether that means it is a beta test or a partial release. Microsoft has not yet responded to requests for clarification.