Microsoft’s Phil Spencer promised details on Starfield’s resolution and frame rate on consoles before launch, and Bethesda’s Todd Howard has delivered. Speaking to IGN, the latter confirmed that Starfield would run at 30 frames per second on Xbox Series X/S. While Xbox Series X supports 4K resolution, Xbox Series S delivers 1440p.
The decision to lock the sci-fi RPG to 30 FPS is to ensure “consistency” in performance. As Howard notes, “I think it’ll come as no surprise, given our previous games, what we go for. Always these huge, open worlds, fully dynamic, hyper detail where anything can happen. And we do want to do that. It’s 4K in the X. It’s 1440 on the S. We do lock it at 30 because we want that fidelity. We want all that stuff. We don’t want to sacrifice any of it.”
While Starfield is “running great” and often “way above” 30 FPS, sometimes hitting 60, it can be a bit inconsistent. Howard says, “On the consoles, we do lock it because we prefer the consistency, where you’re not even thinking about it. And we don’t ever want to sacrifice that experience that makes our games feel really, really special. So it feels great. We’re really happy with how it feels, even in the heat of battle. And we need that headroom because in our games, really anything can happen.”
Starfield is out on September 6th for Xbox Series X/S and PC (though Premium Edition owners can start playing on September 1st). So for those craving a 4K/60 FPS experience, PC looks to be the way. System requirements have yet to be revealed, so stay tuned for more details in the coming months.
In the meantime, check out the character creation system, procedurally generated planets, space combat and ship customization from the recent Deep Dive.
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