Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry crew got their hands on a preview version of the Xbox Series X, and the tests that they’ve run so far reveal the console’s impressive backward compatibility capabilities.
There are quite a few things worth discussing in their preview, but we’d argue the most impressive results are found in the early frame-rate tests. Simply put, the Series X’s ability to produce 60 FPS gameplay in nearly every backward compatible title that was tested is, in many cases, shocking. While many of the better-optimized games available on Xbox One of course run smoother on Series X, the real story here is what the next-gen console can do for games that have traditionally not run well even on the nearly next-gen Xbox One X.
For instance, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Hitman 2 (two games which struggled to maintain 30 FPS speed on current-gen consoles in certain sections) ran at a nearly locked 60 FPS speed on Series X. Even Sekiro (a game that is somewhat infamous among FPS obsessed gamers for its technical demands and performance struggles) nearly reached steady 60 FPS gameplay despite never coming close to reaching that benchmark on current consoles.
Even some older titles are “rescued” by the power of the Xbox Series X. The report highlights Grand Theft Auto 4 as a game that not only infamously struggled on the Xbox 360 (where it was borderline unplayable at times) but even burdened the mighty Xbox One X. On Xbox Series X, though, Rockstar’s sometimes controversial classic hits that fabled 60 FPS benchmark and even does so while offering enhanced visuals and improved load times.
