The Xbox Series X will feature Microsoft's DirectX 12 Ultimate graphics technology, making it easier for developers to optimize games for Xbox and PC platforms simultaneously.

The new API, revealed on the developer blog (via The Verge), is guaranteed to support DirectX Raytracing, Variable Rate Shading, Mesh Shaders, and Sampler Feedback, allowing Xbox and PC graphics cards to work efficiently while ensuring that they are ready to display the full range of the latest games.

This new standard is not a huge leap forward compared to DirectX 12, but it does offer some useful improvements. Ray tracing can now be performed solely on the GPU instead of requiring CPU help, allowing for more efficient performance while achieving more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections.

Mesh shaders allow distant objects to be rendered with fewer polygons, and variable rate shading allows objects in the same scene to have different levels of color detail.

Sampler feedback shades less variable objects, such as distant buildings.

While it may be some time before a game using this technology is released, the significance of having compatible hardware is to ensure that one is prepared for the future.

Additionally, the advantage of having the PC and Xbox Series X on the same graphics platform is that upcoming PC games could be very easily ported to the Xbox. 13]

For PC gamers, DirectX 12 Ultimate, announced to be supported on both Nvidia and AMD hardware, although the latter will only be supported on newer products; AMD has stated that the standard will run on the RDNA 2 architecture, the design behind both the Xbox Series X and PS5. DirectX 12 Ultimate could therefore theoretically work on the PS5, but we will have to wait and see if Microsoft will allow it.