Pearl Abyss introduced Black Desert Online on Xbox One X at Gamescom for the first time. Gamescom, which is held every year in Cologne, Germany, is known as the largest international games show. Pearl Abyss revealed the console version of Black Desert Online to audiences who visited the demonstration area located in the Xbox booth.

Furthermore, on August 23rd, Jae Hui Kim, the general PD, proceeded with a live interview and communicated with players through Xbox Mixer, the Xbox streaming service.

Throughout the interview, Mr. Kim answered questions about the console version of Black Desert Online that many players were curious about. The following is the full text of the interview through the Xbox Mixer streaming.

Q. What are the reasons for launching the game on the console?

BDO is a MMORPG with unrivaled actions performed by natural skill combinations as its basis, and is on one of the world’s best graphics levels. So, we had a lot of inquiries regarding the development of the game on the console.

Thus far, we have focused on game mechanics and the completeness of the game, and as a result, the game is loved more than we ever expected in every region where the game has launched; South Korea, Japan, Russia, NA, EU, Taiwan, and SA.

Therefore, we thought that it would be good to allow many players to enjoy the game on various platforms.

BDO is basically a MMORPG, allowing all players in the server to meet up, pass each other by, communicate with each other, and go on adventures together. We would like to offer the new and fun play that the game provides to the console players as well.

Q. What are the differences of BDO between PC and console?

BDO has prepared many massive updates. This is due to Pearl Abyss’ strong drive and desire to deliver the fun and new experiences to players from the early phase of the service.

As a matter of fact, there may be restrictions on content in the early console service. However, with continuous and phased free updates, we will allow players to enjoy all the developed content in the future.

Moreover, we are planning to deliver even better graphics. Despite already having excellent graphics and sound, BDO on the console will be launched with much better graphics, which have been remastered from the PC version.

Furthermore, we plan to provide various options, a control mode, and an action mode that allows for easier combinations. The UI will be simpler and more intuitive.

Q. The distinctive action style is considered the biggest merit. How did you implement this in the console version?

The game has been optimized with only the keyboard and mouse controls, but we are taking cautious steps when transferring these to the console pad as well. We are doing our best to maintain the same action you could enjoy on the PC.

For example, the attack skill is activated by pressing the attack button while pushing the stick forward, and the heavy attack is activated by pressing the attack button while pushing the stick backward.

In addition, we are preparing a combo mode for players who have difficulty with action controls, so that they can perform splendid actions without many controls.

Q. How is the development going so far?

We have almost finalized the process of putting it into the Xbox One X internally. We are currently progressing with spec optimization, character-specific skill control realization for the pad, and also the console UI. We are planning to complete the development, aiming to launch the game in the first half of 2018.

Q. Why did you decide to launch the game on the Xbox One X first?

While having thorough discussions and consideration, we were notified that Microsoft has shown a consistent interest in BDO. The impeccable specs of the Xbox One X, and the maximum marketing support towards BDO satisfied both companies’ needs.

The most important factor is Microsoft’s respect towards the fundamental value of BDO. We believe that we will become good partners.

Q. Any last words?

Let’s imagine countless console gamers from all over the world meeting up in Black Desert Online. We are already thrilled to think that we can embark on an adventure with many players together in BDO, the seamless open-world MMORPG where you can literally go anywhere you see. We are planning to adjust the game based on feedback from players after the launch. We will show you better improvements through player feedback.