The Xbox Series X and Series S are both powerful next-gen consoles, but the Xbox Series X is simply designed for more. TheXbox Series X has triple the GPU power of the Series Sand is also capable of rendering games in 4K at 60 frames per second. Though the Series S will certainly take up less space in the average household entertainment hub, it lacks in some key performance areas that could make it a difficult fit for some future next-gen games.
So far,Xbox Series X sales are comparable to sales for the Xbox One, with around 2.8 million units sold since the debut of the consoles in November 2020. Newly released games are taking full advantage of the consoles, and some developers are praising the Xbox Series S. Bloober Team has specifically praised the Xbox Series S for its ability to run in high quality the development team’s new game, The Medium. But other developers are less confident in the power of the Series S to reliably run next-gen games at peak performance.
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In a recent interview with WCCFTech, Chief Technical Officer Oleksander Shyshkovtsov from theMetro Exodusdevelopment team 4A Games underlines some issues the Xbox Series S will face. Shyshkovstov states that while the limited RAM on the Series S is “not an issue for us (currently),” the “GPU performance presents challenges for future titles.” Rendering capabilities at 4A Games are geared towardrunning games at 4K and 60 FPS, and the limited abilities of the Xbox Series S at those specifications might limit future games from the developer for the console.
4A Games is releasing anenhanced version ofMetro Exoduson PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|Sthis year, with the goal for the game to be able to run smoothly at 4K and 60 frames per second across all platforms. Faster load times and ray tracing features for consoles are also expected. 4A Games has said thatMetro Exoduswill run at 60FPS on the Xbox Series S, even with the ray tracing feature on, which is a good test for the Series S GPU.
Microsoft has revealed that there are at least30 games coming as Xbox console exclusives in 2021, and it could be that gamers experience the limits of the Xbox Series S with upcoming titles. Big games likeWarhammer 40K DarktideandHalo Infinitecould reveal weaknesses in the less powerful Series S until Microsoft decides to implement console upgrades. But performance speculation aside, the Xbox Series S is a cheaper console that will still reliably play a ton of great games that don’t require the most hardware-intensive features in gaming.
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