I/O Interactive has revealed that Hitman will be supporting DirectX 12 at launch.
DirectX 12 is known to improve how efficiently games run on Windows, which gamers see in improvements in terms of graphics alongside better performance. I/O Interactive outlined what specific improvements fans can expect with Hitman:
- improved multithreading (multithreading is the ability of an operating system to execute different parts of a program, called threads, simultaneously)
- improved performance when the CPU is involved
- better performance on laptops
- asynchronous compute on AMD cards (asynchronous compute allows AMD GPUs to perform graphics and compute workloads simultaneously)
Lastly, I/O Interactive explained that they have just started with utilizing DirectX 12 and will work on more improvements on the future. Of course, using DirectX 12 will also benefit I/O Interactive’s port to the Xbox One, which also uses the low-level API. This should not be confused with Microsoft’s recent reveal of plans to use a Universal Windows Platform for both Xbox One and Windows. As far back as 2014, a developer for Tom Clancy’s The Division opined that DirectX 12 brings PC and Xbox One development closer together, easing tasks for game developers bringing games to both platforms. Many, if not all, of the benefits Hitman gets on Windows 10 will also be available to Xbox One owners.
Hitman launches for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 11th, with additional episodes opening up new areas later in the year. You can read more about its PC requirements here. You can also read more about how DirectX 12 improves game performance here.