On the Xbox, the first two batches were promising, especially considering that they required little developer intervention. Unfortunately, the third batch of 74 games highlighted the limitations of this feature, often requiring dramatic sacrifices in resolution and settings to improve performance.
While Sony does not have this feature, it has deployed frame rate patches for PS4 games running under the backwards compatibility layer. However, this approach has its own drawbacks, limiting the number of games consumers can expect. Given the two different approaches to boosting last generation games, how does the performance of the PS5 and Xbox Series X compare?
The FPS boost was rolled out in February with New Super Lucky's Tale, Far Cry 4, Sniper Elite 4, UFC 4, and Watch Dogs 2. The following month it was Dishonored: Definitive Edition, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Prey. Currently, FPS Boost supports 97 games; one wonders how such a huge list was assembled in three months.
This gets to the heart of what I would call the "magic" of FPS Boost. While Microsoft often partners with developers to ensure consistent performance without introducing unintended bugs, all engineering work is handled at the platform level by Microsoft's backward compatibility team. In Digital Foundry's According to a chat with Jason Ronald, FPS Boost works by sending data from Direct3D, the console's graphics API, to the game faster than it realizes what is happening. By this method, the game code believes it is operating at its original frame rate target.
This sounded like a breakthrough, as it could potentially allow for a huge range of improved titles. However, with the current list of games, the limitations of FPS Boost are obvious. Unless the game code is modified, these backward-compatible titles are limited in terms of their ability to take advantage of the platform's features and efficiencies. These include Battlefield 1, Battlefield 5, and Titanfall 2. These are all Xbox One X-enhanced games, capped at 4K (6K in the case of Titanfall 2) and using a dynamic resolution scaler targeting 60 frames per second. In standard backward compatibility, Series X provides more consistent performance than One X while operating at the upper end of the DRS range; DRS (dynamic resolution scaling) is a technique that adjusts resolution based on rendering load. The native resolution is dynamically reduced to prevent or minimize frame rate degradation.
With FPS Boost enabled, this excellence is reduced; targeting 120 fps limits what can be done to the raw Series X grunt under the backwards compatibility layer. Since the code has not been changed, the only option to enable the frame rate boost is to drop to the original Xbox One settings. This is where this feature breaks down. Playing an online shooter at 120 fps is great, but relying on sub-1080p resolution on 2013 console settings on a 2020 premium console doesn't seem so premium.
Some games are wonders, such as Gears of War 4, where FPS Boost was only applied to the Series S, allowing it to run at 1080p 60fps, but the One X already had that mode. One would expect FPS Boost to be enabled in the graphics mode for Series X, as it was for Shadow of the Tomb Raider and UFC 4, but that is not the case; considering Gears 5's impressive Series X-only patch, Gears of War 4 maintains 60fps at 4K It should be able to run at 60fps, but to do so requires touching code, which is a major challenge for a team that is knee-deep in workflow migration to Unreal Engine 5 while supporting Gears 5's multiplayer.
To date, "Days Gone," "Ghost of Tsushima," "Ratchet and Clank," "The Last of Us: Part 2" and "God of War" have received 60fps updates on PlayStation 5. This is a much poorer list than its competitors, despite having introduced some of these upgrades months before FPS Boost launched.
On the positive side, it is reliable. None of Sony's frame rate boost-enabled games require sacrificing visuals. This is for two reasons - generational change and engineering effort. As a result, resolutions and settings were often limited, with the One X offering higher rendering resolutions as well as higher resolution texture packs that were not offered on the Pro. For this reason, running raw Pro code on PS5 generally resulted in better performance than running One X code on Series X. Besides this, the aforementioned patches were processed by the developers themselves, modifying the code to remove frame rate caps and optimizing it to ensure the smoothest possible experience.
Games that use checkerboard rendering or similar techniques actually benefit from improved image quality on PS5, even though the developers do not change the resolution. [Checkerboard rendering and Insomniac temporal injection work by using information from the previous frame, so at 30 frames per second, less information is used. Without getting too technical, Temporal Injection and Checkerboard Rendering typically render half of the pixels each frame, using different methods to achieve the final output resolution. Checkerboard rendering uses alternating patterns to fill in spots between frames, whereas temporal injection accumulates information from the previous frame and injects it into the current frame. In addition, game rendering times can be above or below budget, resulting in artifacts and ghosting. Due to the increased temporal information, all games on Sony's boost list received minor upgrades in image stability, with the exception of "The Last of Us Part 2," which opted for straight 1440p rendering.
Frame rates were also fixed whenever possible. As shown in this frame rate test, "Days Gone" is the most prone to frame rate drops due to its vast world with more dynamic elements than "Ghost of Tsushima," but it still performs extremely well. Sony's games are as locked in to their frame rate targets as can be expected from a console game.
Sony's approach to frame rate intervention is more reliable for consumers, as it delivers near-perfect performance without compromising visuals. Unfortunately, due to resource requirements, it is unlikely that many PlayStation 4 hits will receive this treatment. We would love to see the leaked PC port of Uncharted 4 get a frame rate patch; Horizon: Zero Dawn would also be a welcome addition considering the existing PC port, but Guerrilla is busy developing a full-fledged Horizon: Forbidden West development.
Microsoft's FPS Boost, on the other hand, could improve the performance of more games. The downside is that access to game code is limited. If Microsoft decides that the game is not stable enough, the only options are to not deploy FPS Boost at all or to revert to the Xbox One's base code. Microsoft cannot find a resolution or setting that is a middle ground between Xbox One and Xbox One X. While "Prey," "UFC 4," "Skyrim," and "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" maintain the Xbox One X expansion at 60 FPS, " Anthem" has been dropped to the Xbox One's dynamic 900p to achieve 60 fps.
Neither approach is inherently superior. Both are equally successful and disappointing for different reasons; when FPS Boost works as expected, it skyrockets past Sony's closest equivalent; the One X has a 1.8 teraflop advantage over the PS4 Pro, often over 2.8 teraflops. Multi-platform games with 25x resolution at best and increased FPS without losing any enhancements make the Pro version seem outdated. It is unfortunate that it often does not function this way. Of the 97 boosted games, 20 are off by default, meaning they revert to the original Xbox One code.
It is also disappointing that Sony does not have a dedicated team that can work on a frame rate patch for PS5. Unless Sony changes its business strategy to focus on backwards compatibility, there is not much Sony can do to mitigate this problem, but Microsoft is in a position to implement the easiest solution. Namely, Microsoft should offer the option of enabling FPS Boost in the Xbox One X settings. Implementing this user choice would make FPS Boost the clear winner.
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