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Vulkan 1.3 makes it easier to port PC games to mobile devices

Tushar Mehta
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The gap between mobile and PC gaming is constantly narrowing because of the improvements in mobile hardware. But as this gap closes, game developers need tools that can help them create titles that can work on multiple platforms without rewriting the entire game from scratch. Vulkan is the right tool for this job and has been widely adopted across the gaming industry and on various mobile and PC operating systems. Vulkan is an open-source and cross-platform application program interface (API) developed by Khronos Group, a non-profit consortium with members including technology giants such as AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, etc. Today, the Khronos Group is announcing its next update to the Vulkan API with new recommendations under the Vulkan 1.3 specifications, making cross-platform game porting easier for developers.

Khronos Group’s Vulkan 1.3 specifications are designed to reduce fragmentation across the different hardware and streamline the developer experience while configuring titles for a wide range of hardware, with varying form and power. This is especially beneficial for mobile devices as well as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) solutions to offer an experience that is evocative of (even if not on par with) the graphics capabilities of a powerful PC while using fewer resources.

Vulkan 1.3 API logo.

Vulkan 1.3 also introduces profiles that will allow developers to customize the user experience for a wider range of devices based on their hardware. In its Android Baseline Profile 2021, Google has categorized Android smartphones and tablets to help developers optimize gaming experience on those devices. The Android profile also includes devices that are either out-of-date or do not receive regular updates.

The Khronos Group will also allow game developers to set features based on profiles, allowing them to enable or disable features in a game depending on whether they are supported on a device or not.

Arm, the world leader in mobile semiconductor design, has committed to using Vulkan 1.3 to allow game developers to sense the requirements for and the specifications of a multitude of Mali-G series GPUs. Simultaneously, graphics industry leaders NVIDIA and AMD will also offer updated GPU drivers that support the latest Vulkan specifications.

Lastly, Khronos is also announcing its road map for 2022 that will allow developers to track features that are currently available as well as those that will roll out in the latter half of 2022.

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