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Microsoft has detailed how the Xbox Series S will handle compatibility with games from the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One S, and how this next-gen system will make those experiences even better.
As reported by Eurogamer, Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter spoke to Microsoft about the Xbox Series S and how it will offer “1440p for OG Xbox and enhanced 360 titles, 2x performance on select One S titles, and more.”
Original Xbox games will feature a “3x resolution boost on both axes, meaning that titles targeting 480p on the original machine will max out at 1440p on the S Series, presumably with a variety of performance benefits. “.
Xbox 360 games that were available for Xbox One X will also be enhanced, running with a “2×2 resolution multiplier, bringing titles that ran in native 720p up to 1440p.”
As mentioned above, Xbox Series S will not run older games with Xbox One X enhancements, but it will have other additional benefits. Xbox 360 games will benefit from the improved Zen 2 CPU architecture, which is a step up from the Xbox One X’s Jaguar CPU cores.
As for Xbox One S games, there will also be several improvements, although “a game coded to run at 900p will not perform higher on the S Series.” However, there will be “higher resolutions in games that use dynamic resolution scaling, as well as improvements in the quality of texture filtering.”
Games will also load much faster with the new solid-state storage, and Auto HDR will also be there and will make games look better than their Xbox One S counterparts. Additionally, titles with limited CPU should also “offer a more stable performance at target frame rates. “
Speaking of frame rates, Xbox One titles will be able to run at twice the frame rate on both Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.
“We designed the S Series to improve Xbox One S games in a way that the Xbox One X cannot,” explains system architect Andrew Goossen to Eurogamer. “We made it easy to update existing Xbox One S games to run at twice the frame rate when also played on the S Series. When games are updated, existing games can be queried to determine if they are running on the new console. And in terms of performance, the S Series offers more than twice the effective CPU and GPU performance of the Xbox One, making it pretty easy for gaming to do this. And indeed, the S Series GPU runs Xbox One S games with better performance than Xbox One X. “
Another interesting aspect is how relatively simple it seems to improve on previous games to harness the power of these next-gen systems.
“You don’t need a real performance tuning when you do this, and many times it’s as easy as changing three lines of code, and then the game works.” Goossen adds. “Even when it’s not that easy, the fixes are pretty minor. We had a triple A title where doubling the frame rate really worked perfectly, except the crowd animation was twice as fast as normal. And so on, that kind of Fixes are usually very very easy for developers to fix. We are working with game developers and publishers to update [their titles]. Basically, these will be select games running at double the frame rate on the S Series. “
The Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X will be released on November 10, 2020 and will cost $ 299 and $ 499, respectively. To learn more about the Xbox Series S, read about how game sizes will get smaller on the S Series, 8 new details we learned about the smallest next-gen console, and its full specifications.
Both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will be available to pre-order on September 22, 2020, and you can keep up to date with everything you need to know about Xbox pre-orders in our constantly updated guides that contain what you need to know to secure one. Or both!
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
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