Xbox Series X backward compatibility is good for live service games

Gamers are gearing up for a leap to the next generation in November with Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, but a lot of people updating will find themselves returning to games that came out years ago. The hits of live services like Apex Legends, Warframe, and Rocket League are not going away. They will play an important role in the first months of the new systems. But the thing about Apex Legends, Warframe, and Rocket League in particular is that their developers have yet to commit to releasing native versions for next-gen consoles. Instead, they are likely to run in backward compatibility mode. But is that a problem? In most cases, not really. But it’s a reminder that legacy support is about more than just playing old games.

The PS5 and Xbox X / S have solid support for the current generation of video games. Almost everything should work. I’ve spent weeks testing the Xbox Series X and the actual gaming experience is excellent. Its more powerful hardware and faster storage improve almost everything I’ve ever played. And any game you’ve tried with dynamic resolution or unlocked frame rate runs sharper and faster on the X Series.

I’m less sure about the PS5, in part because I haven’t worked with that console yet. Sony has said that almost all games will work. And I hope the loading times improve thanks to the SSD.

But the PS5 backward compatible system seems to have some limitations that could slightly detract from the experience. And that could have implications for the early days of live service games. Or it could cause additional work for developers who might not otherwise see an urgent need to update their game to a next-gen native version.

Xbox is ready to find out how developers want to use backward compatibility

Let’s talk more specifically about how Xbox Series X works. Most of this should apply to the S Series as well, but I haven’t used that system either. So let’s focus on Series X.

When you open an Xbox One game on Xbox Series X, the game doesn’t need to start in any backward-compatible profile or anything like that. Instead, the game still runs “natively” on Series X. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s “optimized” for the new hardware. And that is an important difference.

Microsoft confirmed this week that it is updating Halo: The Master Chief Collection with a version optimized for the X Series. This allows it to take advantage of next-generation features like the Velocity architecture, which could improve load times by patching how games deliver data. from SSD to RAM.

But the Halo package is also getting support to run at 120 frames per second on the X Series. And while an optimized version will help with that, developers don’t need to compile a separate optimized port to achieve that frame rate.

Backward-compatible games may not be able to access all of the latest X Series hardware. But just like an older PC version when a new GPU comes out, Xbox One games can take advantage of the added power.

Non-native service games on Xbox Series X should work fine

What all that means is that you should see a lot of improvements to live service games on the first day of Series X, even if the developers aren’t rushing to release an optimized version. And many studios may not want to put resources into that just yet. A native port may not improve an older version much more than the benefits that the backward compatible version is already getting.

A competitive live service online game would likely already run at over 60 frames per second on Xbox Series X without requiring native optimizations. And the X Series allows developers to take advantage of that. We are likely to see many games that are not on the Xbox Series X “Optimized” list getting updates to run at 120 frames per second.

Essentially, Xbox works like a PC in this regard. Games can use the available DirectX graphics APIs to use the output options available on the hardware.

We still don’t know how PS5 will work with the PS4 library

Sony is taking a slightly different approach with PS5 backward compatibility. Rather than unleashing the full power of the PS5 in older games, Sony will only do that with select games. In this Game Boost mode, Sony promises more stable or higher frame rates. But Sony is also concerned about compatibility, so it is incorporating multiple legacy modes on the PS5 that run the slowest system to match the capabilities of the PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro.

These profiles might tone down the effect PS5 hardware has on PS4 games, but we won’t know until we try it out for ourselves. The engineers and designers at Sony Interactive Entertainment know what they are doing, so I hope those profiles will not retain backward compatible games for no good reason. That said, looking back at PS4 and PS4 Pro, only games that got Game Boost updates performed better on the updated PlayStation console when it was released. Later, Sony released a Boost mode that you could enable for better performance even in non-optimized games. Sony may follow a similar pattern with the PS5.

However, if PS5 runs backward-compatible games on strict profiles, that could make some live services disappointing with the new hardware. Again, anything that has a native port for PS5 will be fine. Fortnite will likely run faster and look sharper on PS5 thanks to the release of a new version alongside the debut of that system. But Apex Legends or Rocket League may not see a similar improvement.

Legacy mode could slow load times

These profiles could even mitigate improved load times. While the PS4’s hard drive is like mud compared to the PS5’s SSD, the PS4’s CPU is also a major bottleneck. Charging times may not speed up as much if the PS5 mimics the PS4 CPU even during charges.

For what it’s worth, that’s why I’m skeptical that PS5 will block games on strict profiles. Sony has no reason not to unlock more power while charging because that shouldn’t have compatibility issues.

Live service games may need a PS5 port ASAP

For developers weighing the return on investment of updating their games, a Game Boost patch probably isn’t worth it, at least for ongoing live service games that prioritize high frame rates. This is because backward compatible games on PS5, even with Game Boost, cannot run at more than 60 frames per second.

While the Xbox APIs act like a PC, the PS5 is still very much a console. Sony created new development tools for the PS5 and the PS4 APIs do not connect to the system in the same way. The PS4 system only supports 4K and 60Hz game video output. And that limitation carries over to backward compatible games on PS5.

This is a problem, but it is for developers and not for gamers. PS5 is fully compatible with 120Hz. Ubisoft is porting Rainbow Six: Siege to PS5 with the stated goal of supporting that higher frame rate standard. You probably don’t even have a TV that can do 120Hz at 4K. So you probably won’t even notice this problem.

But it is a problem for the people who make the games. It’s more work to port the game, and that’s a job Sony could eliminate by unlocking its developer tools on its end to patch 120Hz support on PS4 Legacy profiles or Game Boost mode on PS5. And by doing that, Sony could make sure that gamers who care about something like ultra-high frame rates don’t have to wait for developers to fully upgrade their games to the next generation.