Starfield will have its framerate locked to 30 FPS on consoles, according to Bethesda head Todd Howard. He revealed it in an exclusive interview to IGN following Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct.
Starfield director Todd Howard confirms the game's framerate and resolution on Xbox consoles. #IGNSummerOfGaming pic.twitter.com/tlIjKcDCJg
— IGN (@IGN) June 11, 2023
Discussing the performance of Starfield on Xbox consoles, Todd revealed that they have indeed managed to get the game running at a higher frame rate than 30, at times even clocking at perfect 60 FPS. However, the team has decided to lock it down to 30FPS on both Xbox Series X and S, providing room for anything unexpected to take place seamlessly, offering gamers a smooth experience. When asked further about what made them decide to restrict the framerate to 30 in an age where 60 FPS is steadily becoming the standard, he claimed that ‘we want the consistency, where you’re not even thinking about it. We don’t ever want to sacrifice that experience that makes our games feel really, really special.’
Starfield on Xbox Consoles will Support 30 FPS, 60 FPS may be possible on PC
Even with the 30 FPS, Todd claims that the game looks amazing, even in the ‘heat of the battle’. He feels positive that this decision would not impact the gameplay for players using Xbox for Starfield. In the interview, he also confirmed that the game will be running at 4K resolution for Xbox Series X and 1440P for Xbox Series S, the highest resolutions supported by the respective consoles.
While talking about the performance while testing, Howard explained that,
“It’s often running way above that (30 FPS). Sometimes it’s 60. But on the consoles, we do lock it because we prefer the consistency, where you’re not even thinking about it.”
The decision to lock Starfield on Xbox at 30 FPS has largely to do with the massive in-game environment that features hyper-realistic details. PC players, on the other hand, can make use of their powerful hardware to squeeze out more FPS, closing in on 60 or even more. However, it all depends on optimization from the developer’s front which has been a letdown for gamers on PC in recent past. Hopefully, Bethesda changes the trend.
Source – IGN
