Since Starfield was revealed, fans are wondering what framerate the sci-fi RPG will run on the console. In a new interview with IGNcreative director Todd Howard confirmed that the Xbox Series X/S version will remain locked at 30fps to maintain a consistent look and feel throughout the game.
“I don’t think it’s surprising, given our past games, what we’re going to do,” Howard said IGN after Starfield Direct now. “Always huge, open worlds, fully dynamic, super detailed where anything can happen. And we want to do that. It’s 4K in X. It’s 1440 in S. We lock it to 30 , because we want that loyalty, we want all those things. We don’t want to sacrifice any of it.
Read more: Starfield Gets The Gameplay And Reveals The Story You’ve Been Waiting For
Bethesda’s longtime game designer added that the game “runs well” and is even at 60fps at times. “But on consoles, we lock it down because we prefer consistency, where you don’t think about it,” he said. It also plays well on the less powerful Xbox Series S which Howard says he’s been playing a lot since his Xbox Series X is a monopoly of children.
Higher framerates, something that PC gamers have long been able to access with higher-end gear, are one of the big selling points for “next-gen” consoles. However, recently, some big blockbusters is struggling to reach that mark. Gotham Knights is locked at 30fps on console, and on Arkane Austin Redfallan exclusive Xbox first-party console that was promoted with 60fps gameplay footage, will not have a 60fps mode until the future.
But given Bethesda’s past track record wide open-RPGs in the world at launch, a stable 30fps will likely be a pleasant surprise for most fans.
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