Developers Go Against Xbox Series S Restriction

If you develop games for the Xbox Series X, you also have to use the Xbox Series S. A rule that Microsoft continues to uphold two years after the release of its consoles. However, developers seem to feel severely restricted by the weaker system.

The mandatory support of the Xbox Series S is a thorn in the side of many game developers. Although Microsoft was able to help with a small performance boost a few months ago, the general performance seems to lag behind the Xbox Series X more than significantly. Scarce development resources are said to be responsible for the fact that the Series S obligation imposed by Microsoft is affecting the quality of next-gen games.

Gamers Care About Quality, and Microsoft’s Focus is Cheap Console

“An entire generation of games is being crippled by this potato,” says Lee Devonald, Senior Character Technical Artist at Rocksteady (including the Batman Arkham series). This was preceded by complaints from many gamers following the announcement that the action-adventure Gotham Knights with its open-world design would only be displayed at 30 frames per second (FPS) even on the powerful Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

“Multiplatform games always need to be optimized for the lowest performance,” Devonald continued. Additional optimization for the Xbox Series X, for example in the form of a performance mode, does not seem to be planned for all studios in the budget. Accordingly, developers are venting their anger and have been asking Microsoft as reported by wccftech for some time to separate the systems so that full Series X games can be programmed – so far without success.

As a “Digital Edition” without a drive, however, the Xbox Series S has prevailed among gamers. For many, a 1080p resolution and the reduced level of detail seem to be sufficient in favor of a cheaper entry-level price. In terms of Microsoft’s cloud gaming ambitions, the console could also have potential in the future.