Entertainment
Starfield locked at 30fps – promises to be Bethesda’s least buggy game yet-Michael Beckwith-Entertainment – Metro
Xbox owners are left split on Starfield not running at 60fps, which Microsoft stresses was a ‘creative decision’ and not a hardware issue.
Starfield – is this a deal breaker for you or are you not bothered? (Picture: Bethesda)
Xbox owners are left split on Starfield not running at 60fps, which Microsoft stresses was a ‘creative decision’ and not a hardware issue.
Microsoft and Bethesda had a lot, and we mean a lot to show of Starfield at the Xbox Games Showcase. It certainly looks impressive in terms of content but given the lack of any hands-on impressions, it’s difficult to tell how well it actually plays.
In the meantime, director Todd Howard has shared details regarding the game’s performance that weren’t touched upon in the 40+ minute presentation.
Namely, despite launching as an Xbox Series X/S console exclusive, Starfield will not run at 60 frames per second (fps) and be capped at 30.
Unsurprisingly, this news has quickly proven unpopular with certain fans who adamantly refuse to play anything that runs below 60fps, with more than a few seeing this as justification to play it on PC instead.
It doesn’t help that this also comes after the last Xbox exclusive, Redfall, launched at 30fps as well, with a patch that adds a performance mode still in the works.
As for why Starfield will run at 30fps, Howard explains that it’s for the sake of consistency and ensuring the game can have these incredibly detailed open worlds to explore without sacrificing fidelity.
‘It’s 4K on the X. It’s 1440 on the S. We do lock it at 30, because we want that fidelity, we want all that stuff. We don’t want to sacrifice any of it,’ Howards tells IGN.
‘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, 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.’
In a separate interview with Giant Bomb, Xbox boss Phil Spencer seems to suggest that Starfield could run at 60fps if they wanted it to, but it was a ‘creative decision’ to lock it to 30fps.
At the very least, Spencer wants it known that it isn’t a hardware issue, reminding everyone that the Xbox Series X/S has other games it can run in 4K at 60fps.
Despite the backlash, there are just as many who frankly aren’t bothered by the decision and remain excited to play Starfield.
Not to mention, if Starfield does consistently run at 30fps, this actually makes it the most stable game Bethesda’s ever made. Something Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, also touched upon with Giant Bomb.
‘If it shipped today, it would have the fewest bugs a Bethesda game has ever shipped with,’ he brags. Given how buggy Bethesda games have usually been at launch, this isn’t exactly a high bar to meet and doesn’t mean Starfield will arrive completely bug free.
Starfield launches for Xbox Series X/S and PC on September 6.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter, and sign-up to our newsletter.
MORE : Xbox Games Showcase was everything the PlayStation event should’ve been but wasn’t
MORE : Xbox first party games have ‘turned the corner’ as Microsoft hints at more exclusives
MORE : Redfall used to be full of microtransactions but Xbox wouldn’t cancel it
Follow Metro Gaming on Twitter and email us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
Sign up to all the exclusive gaming content, latest releases before they’re seen on the site.
Entertainment – MetroRead More
