Starfield will run at 30 FPS on Xbox Series X/S
by Danny Craig
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ZeniMax
More details and gameplay for Bethesda's new IP were revealed at its own direct showcase, and the game's director, Todd Howard, has shared more technical information.
The details:
- Howard confirmed to IGN ahead of the showcase that the game would be limited to 30 frames per second (FPS) on consoles at high resolutions. The game will run at 4K resolution on Microsoft's flagship Xbox Series X, and 1440p resolution on the less powerful Series S, both of which are locked at 30 FPS for "consistency." Although this is unconfirmed, the game may have a 1080p performance mode like other Xbox titles, allowing it to achieve higher frame rates.
- According to Howard, the game did run at 60 FPS on console at times during development, but Bethesda chose to keep it at 30 FPS as it "prefers the consistency." Howard went on to say that it should "come as no surprise" given the studio's history of creating games with "huge, open worlds, fully dynamic, hyper-detailed environments where anything can happen," which means that performance would need to be tuned to be stable without sacrificing gameplay or visuals.
- Redfall, released earlier this year by Arkane, had a similar frame rate cap in place, limiting the title to 30 FPS at launch, with a future update adding a 60 FPS performance mode. The decision was heavily criticized, particularly because the game's physical copies shipped with 60 FPS listed on the box art, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer revealing that the company knew the performance mode would not be ready even when the title's gameplay was released.
Other announcements at the Xbox Games Showcase:
- Persona 3: Reload and Persona 5: Tactica will be released in 2024 and November 2023, respectively. The existence of the two titles had been rumored for some time, and a few days before they were supposed to be revealed during the showcase, both trailers were accidentally leaked on Atlus' official Instagram account.
- Fable, Playground Games' reboot of the beloved Xbox franchise, has received a new trailer starring Richard Ayoade, giving us our first look at the new world of Albion with the series' trademark British humor. Playground Games has not provided a release date, so it could be a while before we learn more.