Gamers who have been enjoying the latest generation of consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, may have noticed that some games run smoother than others. Despite the technical capabilities of these consoles to deliver 4K120 visuals, many games still struggle to achieve even a fraction of that performance. This raises the question: why are so many games on these powerful consoles falling short?
Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X boast ray tracing capabilities thanks to their AMD RDNA 2 architecture chipsets, known as Scarlett and Oberon, respectively. Ray tracing, a real-time lighting technique introduced in 2018, demands significant hardware resources, and modern games are pushing the three-year-old hardware to its limits. This console generation has been marked by compromises, forcing players to choose between visual fidelity and performance. Unfortunately, in many cases, a 30 frames per second (fps) framerate is the best that can be achieved, which often comes with a noticeable performance impact that diminishes the gaming experience.
A recent example is the release of Redfall, an online action shooter developed by Arkane. The Xbox Series X version of the game is capped at 30fps, with no Performance mode available. This means players are at a disadvantage compared to the PC version, which also struggles to maintain smooth framerates, even at 60fps or higher, depending on the system configuration.
Redfall is not an isolated incident. Games like Gotham Knights and A Plague Tale: Requiem, released a few months ago, were also locked at 30fps on both Xbox Series X and PS5. While there are a few games that can achieve native 4K60, even then, the target resolution of 2160p is often scaled rather than consistently maintained. If framerates are unstable and image quality suffers, it becomes evident that 30fps is not sufficient.
The reason for these compromises on the Xbox Series X and PS5 can be attributed to the aging of hardware. Although 2020 may not seem like a long time ago, in the PC hardware world, two generations of graphics cards have been launched since then. Companies like AMD and Nvidia continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in today’s games. However, these newer graphics cards come at a higher cost, with prices exceeding the base MSRP of the consoles themselves. Building a PC capable of fully utilizing these components can be quite expensive.
Despite being equipped with RDNA 2 architecture, it’s time to reassess the capabilities of the Xbox Series X and PS5. Aiming for 60fps will require either scaled-back visuals or relying on a lower resolution, such as 1440p, instead of the coveted 2160p. Trying to achieve both high visual fidelity and smooth performance simultaneously has proven challenging. The gap between console and PC performance is likely to widen in the coming years, unless there are future iterations or revisions of the consoles.
However, a mid-generation hardware upgrade may not be the ultimate solution, as it is unlikely that consumers will be willing to pay considerably more for consoles beyond the existing price range. It is crucial for game developers to focus on optimizing their software to achieve better performance. Many players would prefer games to run at a steady 60fps with a resolution of 1080p or 1440p, rather than being stuck at 30fps.
