If you were hoping to feel the silky smooth high-fps gameplay that we’ve come to expect with modern releases during the era of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, then perhaps Starfield isn’t going to cut it for you.
Starfield won’t be running at 60fps on the Xbox Series X when it launches later this year. Game director Todd Howard confirmed the console performance specs to IGN explaining the game will be locked at 30fps on Xbox devices to ensure ‘fidelity’.
While Howard claims that the game is capable of sometimes surpassing 30fps, and even reaching 60 at points, the team chose to lock it so they can ensure a consistent gameplay experience players are familiar with from past titles.
“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,” Howard said to IGN. “[Starfield] 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.”
Some Xbox players may be disappointed to hear about this framerate cap and rightfully so given most marque titles nowadays have been able to achieve that 60fps mark. The silver lining is that while frames might not be high the game will still play in full 4K on the Series X and at 1440p on the S.
Since Howard’s words surfaced online as expected some players are frustrated with the news. Some suggest that the team should include a toggle so that players can choose to prioritize framerate over fidelity. Others are simply taking any opportunity to get jabs in at Microsoft.
While a capped framerate is always an issue of contention, we won’t truly know what Starfield feels like until it’s in the hands of players. The game will launch on PC and Xbox on Sept. 6.
