Xbox Series X Frames Per Second explained: Why will Assassin's Creed Valhalla run on 30 FPS instead of 60 FPS?


Frames per second, or FPS, but not first-person shooter, is a way of measuring how impressive and fluid graphics are. And the Xbox Series X has an interesting situation going on with FPS.

FPS refers to the number of images you see a second, the higher the number, the more images you see a second, and the more fluid the image looks.

Generally things have been played back in 24 FPS, but the industry standard in gaming tends to be 30 FPS now. However, 60+ often looks even better, and it's one of the things that people are looking forward to about the next-gen.

So, why did Ubisoft say that Assassin's Creed Valhalla will run on the Xbox Series X at a minimum of 30 FPS instead of 60?

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is only 30 FPS?

The statement came from Ubisoft to IGN, as reported on by the very talented Jordan Oloman, and reads as follows:

"Assassin's Creed Valhalla will run at a minimum of 30 FPS. On Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, we are committed to offer the best experience to our players by immersing them in the most beautiful worlds and environments we could create, and leveraging not only the graphics enhancements offered by the next generation of consoles, but also faster loading times and the new architectures."

Now, it says minimum here, so it kind of sounds like they're just trying to manage expectations. Also, it turns out that 60 FPS was never a guarantee, even if the console is capable of it.

READ MORE: Xbox Series X team promises "a better console" than PS5

What this means for the Xbox Series X

Aaron Greenberg, GM of Xbox Games Marketing replied to a tweet from Tom Warren, the senior editor of The Verge, saying "Developers always have flexibility in how they use the power, so a standard or common 60fps is not a mandate."

This makes it sound as though the power of the Xbox Series X isn't the issue here, but the ability of developers to utilise it.

There are plenty of reasons why this might be the case, familiarity being a big one, but it could also be due to supporting the current-gen consoles alongside the newer tech. That can often hold back progress.

READ MORE: Xbox Series X towards compatibility explained

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