Microsoft has always perceived the Xbox Series S as a consumer-friendly move. Starting at the low price of $299, Xbox Series S opens the doors to next-generation gaming for mainstream audiences. However, the low price of an entry comes at a cost to the hardware.
Recent discussions have once again brought the console’s weaknesses into the spotlight. After it was discovered that Gotham Knights would skip 60 fps on consoles, a developer criticized the Xbox Series S. Another developer has now claimed that many developers are trying to drop Xbox Series S launch requirements.
The whole “Series S is holding back next-gen games” argument seems really broken to me. Most of these games also come to PC and already have to cover a wide variety of configs. Like go look at the Steam Hardware Survey sometime. Lots of older stuff with significant percentages.
— Jeff Gerstmann (@jeffgerstmann) October 20, 2022
The developer’s statement came out as a response to the above tweet. In a series of now-deleted tweets, Bossa Studios developer Ian Maclure expressed his grievances with the Xbox Series S. He stated,
“Many developers have been sitting in meetings for the past year, desperately trying to get Series S launch requirements dropped.”
As mentioned earlier, this entire discussion was sparked by Gotham Knights’ console performance. The game is currently limited to 30 frames per second on consoles, but recent technical breakdowns have shown much more significant problems.
In response to the Gotham Knights discussion, a developer from Rocksteady claimed that the Xbox Series S is a potato and holds the entire generation back. The developer’s tweets got several responses and have since been deleted.
🚨‼️🚨👀
Senior dev says Xbox Series S is holding back this generation of games and says it’s not much better than a last gen console. pic.twitter.com/evrnGqt9Zc
— THE RED DRAGON (@TWTHEREDDRAGON) October 15, 2022
This is not the first time developers have expressed their concerns over the Xbox Series S. Multiple developers have stated that bandwidth and memory limitations are problematic on the console. Despite the console’s strong CPU, Microsoft has cut corners to reduce costs.
Digital Foundry: Heard from multiple developers that Xbox Series S is a pain
We're still at the beginning of the generation and S is already constrained with memory issues. 🥴#Xbox #XboxSeriesS 🤕 pic.twitter.com/23CwXghn3l
— THE RED DRAGON (@TWTHEREDDRAGON) May 10, 2022
On the contrary, demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 have shown that Xbox Series is far from incapable. CD Projekt Red’s latest release was recently patched to run at 60fps on Series S, although it comes with a list of expected sacrifices.
Despite the recent controversy, the console continues to be supported by Microsoft. The company has clarified that new games on the platform must help the Xbox Series S, fulfilling the initial promise of cheap next-gen gaming.
Furthermore, several Xbox first-party titles like Starfield, Redfall, and Forza Motorsport are set to launch in 2023. It will be interesting to see how Xbox Series S holds up in the first batch of next-generation games from Microsoft’s studios.
So far, the Series S has proven to be an intelligent decision. However, this could backfire if more and more developers continue to voice their opinion on the caveats of the console. The future seems uncertain, but it remains to be seen if the budget console can stand the test of time.
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