Starfield boss explains reason Xbox version is locked at 30fps
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Bethesda boss Todd Howard has explained why Starfield is going to be locked to 30fps on Xbox Series X|S consoles.
The highly-anticipated game had a large showing as part of Xbox's recent livestream, and soon there was a big debate over the game running at 30 frames per second on console.
The current console generation has been pushing the choice between a visual fidelity mode (prioritising resolution and often adding ray tracing) or a performance mode (lower resolution with a higher/more stable frame rate), but Starfield doesn't offer that.
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Speaking to IGN, Howard explained: "I think it'll come as no surprise, given our previous games, what we go for. Always these huge, open worlds, fully dynamic, hyper detail where anything can happen.
"And we do want to do that. It's 4K in the X. It's 1440 on the S. We do lock it at 30[fps], because we want that fidelity, we want all that stuff. We don't want to sacrifice any of it. Fortunately in this one, we've got it running great.
"It's often running way above that. Sometimes it's 60. But on the consoles, we do lock it because we prefer the consistency. Right? 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. So feels great. We're really happy with how it feels even in the heat of battle."
The tech wizards over at Digital Foundry have their own opinions on why there isn't a 60fps option on the Series X, stating that the game is juggling so many things, such as "item permanence, AI, simulations, and a lot of interlocking systems" that need a lower frame rate to function well.
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They also believe that the Series X resolution might actually be an upscaled internal resolution of 1296p, so there's not much wiggle room to drop resolution for fps anyway.
Despite some people's disappointment over the frame rate, Starfield is shaping up to be Microsoft's biggest exclusive game in years, as the company looks to bounce back following the high-profile disappointment of Redfall.
Starfield is set for release on September 6.
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