FPS Boost has been a brilliant addition to the stable of Xbox features we've seen this generation - personally, this writer thinks it's the highlight of the Xbox Series X|S era so far! The program has modernised some of our favourite Xbox games from the past few generations, including the Xbox 360 era where most games played at 30 frames per-second.
However, the FPS Boost selection is limited when you think of the sheer number of Xbox games that have launched over the last couple of decades. Xbox's reasoning for halting the program is a legit one — the team simply couldn't get any more FPS Boost games running properly — but that hasn't stopped us from pining for a few more updates to come to our favourite titles.
Here are six Xbox games we wish had received an FPS Boost update:
Forza Horizon 2 (Xbox One)
The last few Forza Horizon games have finally treated us to some 60FPS open world racing, with Horizon 5 in particular proving a real treat on Xbox Series X and S. However, the older games in the series are all stuck at 30FPS, and the second game sticks out most as the entry we'd love to see updated.
Forza Horizon 2 feels like a nice mix between the first game and some of the more modern entries in the series, but sadly, it's still stuck at 1080p and 30 frames per-second on Xbox One. The visuals under the hood are still impressive though, and we reckon a double frame rate patch would make this one sing on Xbox Series X and S.
Mafia: Definitive Edition (Xbox One)
2K delivered a fantastic re-working of the original Mafia game back in 2020, with the game's Definitive Edition bringing some truly gorgeous visuals to the world of Lost Haven. It wasn't just a visual makeover either - the team turned Mafia into a true open world with this remake, completely modernising the series' first entry.
However, 2K decided to launch this one right before Xbox Series X|S launched, so it was built primarily for Xbox One and PS4. Because of that, the game only runs at 30 frames per-second, and surprisingly, it never saw a native next-gen patch. This one would have been perfect for FPS Boost, but alas, we'll have to rock 30FPS for now. Maybe one day!
Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360)
Valve's seminal pair of co-op zombie shooters properly captivated us back in the day; we played hours and hours of both titles, especially 2009's Left 4 Dead 2. In fact, we've been back to the second game recently on Xbox Series X and had a blast playing through those old co-op campaigns all over again.
However, after pouring way too much time into other zombie slaying shooters since, at much higher frame rates no less, the 30FPS cap on L4D2 felt really noticeable. These games are so replayable even now that we'd love to see them boosted to a higher frame rate. Left 4 Dead 2 certainly deserves it!
Dishonored 2 (Xbox One)
Arkane took its stealth sandbox prowess to new heights with the Dishonored series, with the first game debuting on Xbox 360 back in 2012. Since then, the original was remastered and FPS Boosted, alongside its standalone expansion in Death of the Outsider.
However, the Xbox One era sequel Dishonored 2 never got an FPS boost for some reason - it's still stuck at 30FPS to this day! Visually, it's gorgeous on Xbox Series X thanks to an Xbox One X enhanced patch, but it's still missing the extra fluidity that comes from 60 frames per-second. We can only think that this one might not have worked properly using the FPS Boost trick, but whatever the issue, we're sad to see that Dishonored 2 never received any performance enhancements. It's still an amazing game though!
Red Dead Redemption 2 (Xbox One)
From this entire list, Red Dead Redemption 2's lack of a higher frame rate patch saddens us the most. This game is truly stunning, especially the Xbox One X version running on Series X, and Rockstar's Wild West sequel feels like it should have been a prime candidate for a boost.
Even though it never came to the program, we still hold out hope that Rockstar may do something with this one at some stage. The company recently re-launched Grand Theft Auto 5 (again), and we'd be pretty surprised if the team doesn't try to sell Red Dead 2 to us all again one day. RDR2 at 4K and 60FPS would be a tough one to resist.
Sunset Overdrive (Xbox One)
Right, we just had to slip this one in here. 2014's Sunset Overdrive remains one of Xbox's best exclusives of the last decade - we absolutely loved our time with Insomniac's Xbox One release back at the start of that console generation.
Thankfully, this title's amazing art style carries the overall visuals real far, but performance? It remains at 30FPS still, and we'd have loved a boost for this huge open world romp. Sunset Overdrive's high-octane gameplay is all about speed of movement combined with wacky weapons; a combo primed for 60FPS! Anyway, we reckon it's about time for a replay of this one, FPS Boost or not!
So, yeah, we're aware that Microsoft doesn't appear to have any more plans for FPS Boost right now, but these six titles (and many more) still deserve to be enhanced in some fashion. Maybe one day Microsoft will come up with another genius method of increasing frame rates! If so, we'd hope these six games would make it.