Skylanders Swap Force's Xbox One upgrades are mostly cosmetic

The next-gen edition of Skylanders Swap Force remains the same in most ways, focusing more on visual upgrades rather than the expansion of the game's features set, if a press demo attended by Polygon is any indication.

On the Xbox One, players will find no new features besides those that apply specifically to the console's capabilities — like DVR capture and community sharing. Speaking with us during a press event in San Francisco, producer Chris Wilson said the idea was to deliver the same core experience across every platform.

"We're really happy with the adventure we put together," Wilson said. "We really want to make sure that all consumers, if you're playing on whatever platform, you're going to be able to experience [the same gameplay.]"

Instead, the team ramped up the game's visuals. Skylanders Swap Force's Xbox One edition features an overhauled graphics engine and was "always built with next-gen in mind," Wilson said. The additional details are part of the team's goal to create a game that looks and feels like an interactive kid's movie.

"We really wanted to deliver that interactive kids movie experience," Wilson said. "Really bring the world of Skylanders to life in a way we haven't seen before. It's really all about immersion: taking kids on that fantasy adventure and putting them in this new world."

Despite the lack of new in-game features, the sharing capabilities of the Xbox One will help build a sense of community, Wilson told us. By sharing moments that are special to them, or showing off their favorite Skylanders combinations, players are interacting even more than before.

"Whatever you feel like is important to you, you now have that ability," he said.