Star Citizen maker says Intel’s Optane memory will be ‘revolutionary’ for gaming — and kill loading screens

SAN FRANCISCO — Intel’s next memory chips just might make the open worlds of video games even larger, and the maker of one intergalactic game sees this as a “revolutionary” development — one that might even kill the dreaded loading screen.

Chris Roberts, the head of Roberts Space Industries and creator of the Star Citizen universe (an immense game where you fly starships, explore, and fight, among other activities), said onstage today at the Intel Developer Forum that the Intel 3D XPoint memory technology in the upcoming Intel Optane memory chips will enable games with huge virtual landscapes and no loading screens. Normally, such huge worlds just aren’t possible, and loading screens take forever in high-end games.

“3D XPoint will make a massive difference in how detailed a world we can have,” Roberts said. “it’s exciting to have these toys to make the experience more real and visceral.”

Roberts said that parts of Star Citizen, which is under development thanks to a huge, $88 million crowdfunding campaign, are already available, and the full game world will be available next year.

Intel announced the 3D XPoint technology with Micron Technology a few weeks ago, and it expects to ship the technology next year.