Introducing Vulkan – the future of open-platform gaming technology

Meet Vulkan – the new low-level API that directly challenges DirectX 12 and promises better performance across all platforms.

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of tools that allows developers to easily build software and applications according to a uniform set of rules. The interface essentially provides the ‘building blocks’ for developers to create their software.

This is important for the gaming industry, as creating advanced software such as video games is made infinitely easier by the use of APIs.

DirectX 12 is the most advanced API to date, allowing games to reach higher levels of performance and use resources more effectively than DirectX 11. However, the API is owned by Microsoft and is only compatible with Microsoft Windows and Xbox.

This presents a problem to game developers and gamers alike, as performance fluctuates between platforms depending on the API used – with cross-platform ports experiencing lower performance as a result.

This is the problem that the Vulkan API is designed to overcome.

Vulkan API
Vulkan is an API created by Khronos and built on the basic structure of AMD’s Mantle API.

It is the successor to OpenGL, and is set to perform on par with DirectX 12 once it reaches the same stage in development.

Khronos decided to completely abandon the ageing OpenGL API and build a low-level set of tools that would compete directly with DirectX 12 on all platforms.

The excitement around Vulkan is based on the fact that it is a low-level API which will be applicable across all gaming platforms. This means that the same graphics-performance building blocks will be used on your PC, PlayStation and even your Android phone, resulting in higher-quality ports and increased cross-platform development.





Benchmarks
Vulkan 1.0 has been released, and although the API is yet to continue evolving and receiving performance upgrades, it already surpasses OpenGL in graphics performance.

The API will be supported on all recent graphics card with the correct drivers installed.

Check out the benchmarks and gameplay below for more detailed information:


What Vulkan means for gamers
Vulkan support is arriving in a variety of games, including DOOM and Dota 2.

Although gamers will probably not notice any big performance increases over DirectX 12, further improvements will arrive as development of the API continues.

However, with a wide variety of games supporting Vulkan, gamers can expect to see more stable performance across platforms and titles. The API also removes a major factor regarding the difficulty of porting games, which could mean more games on more platforms.

The power of Vulkan is its low-level access, with the API supporting Windows, Steam OS, Linux, Android, Xbox and PlayStation 4.