Why Stardock wanted to show up early to the Vulkan graphics API party

Stardock updated its Ashes of the Singularity strategy game with support for the Vulkan graphics-rendering API in August, and that introduced some serious performance improvements — especially for players who aren’t using Windows 10. Ashes of the Singularity was one of the first games to support DirectX 12, which is Microsoft latest graphics API. And now the publisher and studio has patched Vulkan into the game, and it made the choice to do that because of its experience making Ashes of the Singularity and its need for efficient visual tech.

“In 2012, Stardock was at a point where we wanted to make games that couldn’t be made with current engines,” Ashes of the Singularity designer Derek Paxton told GamesBeat. “When I first came to Stardock, I said, ‘Hey, listen, let’s quit making a game engine and concentrate on making games. We’re a small company. We don’t have a huge staff. Let’s focus on the part that we’re really passionate about. Let’s make the games.’ [CEO and founder] Brad Wardell said, ‘good luck, go find that engine.’”