Xbox's FPS Boost Feature is a Huge Step for Console Compatibility

Xbox is making a splash in 2021. With the recent announcement that the acquisition of Bethesda Game Studios parent company Zenimax has officially gone forward (along with several subsequent announcements regarding the platform’s premium Game Pass service), Xbox has kept itself at the forefront of the gaming news cycle for several consecutive weeks.

As a Game Pass subscriber and longtime Xbox player, I can’t help but be excited by the potential of this collaboration. A bright future for Xbox and Bethesda is undeniably appealing for fans of either company and their past work. Bethesda is in desperate need of a PR win after the abysmal launch of Fallout 76 in 2018, and the lukewarm reception to Fallout 4 several years prior.

The future of Bethesda’s reputation is uncertain until we get any major title announcements (which, according to Bethesda VP of Marketing and Communications Erin Losi, we’re likely to receive sometime this summer), but the partnership has already provided tangible benefits for Xbox players and Game Pass subscribers. Shortly after the Xbox/Bethesda Roundtable conversation, Xbox added 20 titles from the publisher’s various franchises to Game Pass for console (with several also coming to Game Pass for PC and Cloud.) This list includes Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4, Skyrim Special Edition, almost every DOOM and Wolfenstein game, Dishonored, Dishonored 2, and Prey.

However, shortly after this wide array of titles was added to Game Pass, Xbox added an additional feature to select titles which sweetens the deal even more: their new FPS Boost backwards compatibility feature. 

As of right now (3.18.21), Xbox has added the FPS boost feature to Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Skyrim Special Edition, Dishonored: Definitive Edition, and Prey (along with a small number of other titles). The FPS boost feature allows these games to run at a rock-solid 60fps, which, for older games, on a console, is an incredible feat to achieve without a dedicated remaster.

As someone with an immense backlog of games I’ve yet to play, as well as the occasional desire to revisit past favorites, backwards compatibility is a huge selling point for me when looking at consoles, and anything that enhances the backward compatibility experience is a massive plus. Xbox’s FPS boost may be the single biggest step forward in console backward compatibility since Xbox initially launched their BC program back in 2015, and I want it on everything.

I’ve always preferred console over PC when it comes to gaming, and as a result I am constantly reminded of the conveniences that I’m missing out on by making that choice. Broadly, the experience on PC is much more customizable to those willing to invest the time (or money.)

With FPS boost, Xbox is beginning to provide its players something that PC players have had access to for over a decade: scalability. For PC players, frame rates, resolution, field of view, and other options have been adjustable (or moddable) for years, depending on the user’s hardware capabilities. For console players, those options have always been more restrictive. Only now, with the introduction of powerhouses like the Xbox Series X and PS5, are consoles finally starting to catch up.

For a game like Skyrim, the breath of new life provided by FPS boost is transformative. It’s incredible what a frame rate increase can do to make the world of Skyrim feel like such a pleasant place to exist. It still feels dated, but the smoothness of 60fps gameplay helps it hide its age a bit.

With the introduction of FPS boost, Xbox has set a precedent for backward compatibility that Sony and Nintendo should absolutely follow, and I cannot wait until FPS boost is implemented on a wider scale. Jason Ronald, Xbox’s senior Programming Manager, has confirmed that the tech is not universal and will be applied on a case-by-case basis, which makes sense considering the amount of variables which likely must be considered. Do older games from the 360 or original Xbox generation react differently? How would FPS boost affect cross-platform multiplayer titles? Only time will tell, but the potential reach of this feature is tantalizing to me as an Xbox fan.