One of the major marketing points for the Xbox Series X|S in 2020 was its backwards compatibility features. Faster loading times, Quick Resume and visual enhancements would all come together to make older Xbox titles look better than they ever had.
However, it's clear that Microsoft is not done with these upgrades. Despite the Series X|S releasing in November 2020, extra features and improvements are still being rolled out to further enrich players' experience in older games.
With that in mind, here's a look at Xbox's latest feature- FPS Boost.
Xbox FPS Boost Explained
The new FPS Boost feature does exactly what it says - it boosts the frame rate of an older game. In a blog post by Paul Eng, the Senior Program Manager at Xbox, he explained that FPS boost can nearly double, or even quadruple the original frame rate in certain titles.
"These new techniques can push game engines to render more quickly for a buttery smooth experience beyond what the original game might have delivered due to the capabilities of the hardware at the time," Eng said.
This upgrade also does not require any work by the original developers, or any updates to the games, according to Eng. By utilising the improved CPU, GPU and memory of the next-gen consoles, Microsoft has been able to make these changes without altering the code of the original game, with Digital Foundrypointing out that "As far as the games are concerned, they're still running at their original frame-rates."
READ MORE: Microsoft announces Xbox Wireless Headset for March Release
What games can use FPS Boost?
There are currently five games that can make use of the new FPS Boost feature. These are:
- Far Cry 4
- New Super Lucky's Tale
- Sniper Elite 4
- UFC 4
- Watch Dogs 2
These games will now all target 60 FPS on the Series X|S consoles, having ran at 30 FPS on the Xbox One. However, New Super Lucky's Tale already ran at 60 FPS on the Xbox One X, meaning it can now run at 120 FPS on the Series X console.
"This is just the beginning," according to Eng, who said that Xbox will make FPS Boost available for more games in the future, although he did not disclose what games this would include.
READ MORE: Xbox Series S GPU could cause problems for developers in the future