Xbox Series S Will Run Xbox One S Versions Of Backwards Compatible Games, With Improvements

I think if you were the type of person to gripe over small graphical drawbacks, you would have been looking at an X rather than an S anyway.

To be expected really. The S is not a 4K machine.

That answers my question...

I still planned to go all out for the Series X anyways - despite not owning a 4K TV. Super-sampling FTW!

Also, I have quite a few physical versions of games, and don't want to lose them.

None of this matters to me. All I know is, I'll be able to play next gen games for only 300 dollars. Sign me up.

This answers half of my question, the other half is if the Xbox One X enhancements are available on Series X. Microsoft, couldn't you just confirm both at the same time? 😂

@BlueOcean Well of course it is, there can never be any possible doubt about that.

@BlueOcean I think logically it should be right? But information will come soon enough.

@Richnj summed up perfectly.

@Jslade 300 dollars for a 1440p next-gen console that is able to upscale to 4K is awesome value.

@BrilliantBill @Z3u5000 Yes but I want Microsoft to confirm it.

I think it's because One x enhancements mostly target 4k, and series s is a 1080/1440 machine. So it's expected for me 😂

@Z3u5000 Big L for you with this news. My condolences.

@Sylcolene I think it's because of that and not because of what John said. Series S has 10GB, 8GB of GDDR6 memory for the GPU and Xbox One X has 12GB, 9GB of GDDR5 for the GPU. That's 1GB less on Series S but it also has a better CPU, GPU and Velocity architecture. My opinion is that they just want to market Series S as an HD/QuadHD (1440p) machine, even for backwards compatibility.

@Menchi What news? Xbox Series S was already designed in-line to render at 1440p60fps. My condolences when you come to a xbox site to spew hate on everything and reiterate the obvious facts twisting every narrative without any understanding of hardware.

@Z3u5000 I enjoy owning the fanboys while I come here for news actually. It just happens naturally while I use facts and logic.

Still doesn't run the X1X version of BC though.

So it cant run xbox one games with series X enhancements so obviously going to struggle to run actual series X games no?

@Menchi It’s an absolute pleasure owning butthurt fangirls that likely don’t possess any technical know-how or even ignorant enough to completely miss out the point of having the “Series S” moniker which already indicates to be designed for next-gen upgrade (fidelity, fps, loading etc) over One S likely to match it’s price segment and market demographic. Since all One X games are also available on One S this should be far from anybody’s concerns and well within expectations.
For all those butthurt regular haters from wccftech and pushsquare who come here to twist the narratives, here’s a simple but obvious reason as to why a console designed for 1440p60fps/120fps should never really be ever concerned about running titles like RDR2 at native 4K render resolution.

Enjoy your imaginary “RTX 3090” 4000$ rig with Spiderman DLC. Peace ✌️

@Z3u5000 Still doesn't run the X1X versions my guy, give it up.

@Menchi On another note, going to your profile I see you are also one of the very concerned and passionate butthurt xbox haters who likes to come here and show support for his fellow mates. So there’s no point wasting on nincompoops like yourselves. Do yourself a favour and get an actual life moron! Cuz whatever you spew doesn’t make any real sense whatsoever. ✌️

@Z3u5000 Cringe. It's ok that you were wrong though. Learn from it and improve going forward instead of copy pasting PR specs.

It clearly doesn't end well.

Just like XSS trying to play X1X enhanced games.

Now, time to play Gears 5 maxed out since the Horde event XP is wild. 120fps maxed out btw. With a higher than Ultra setting on particle effects.

@Z3u5000 what's your thoughts on this then

"In 2020, devs will have to optimize cross-gen games for eight console platforms:

Xbox One
Xbox One S
Xbox One X
Xbox Series S
Xbox Series X
PS4
PS4 Pro
PS5

The variable perf between Series S and Series X could cause trouble, a Remedy tech dev says"

On top of that I'd software and call of duty developers have voices concerns about the series S holding them back by being a bottleneck

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/75097/xbox-series-low-end-perf-could-cause-problems-remedy-dev-says/amp.html?__twitter_impression=true

But could they not bump the resolutions up to 1440p. This is super disappointing as most people thought the series s was more powerful than the one x. I can understand the next gen games not being able to be played in 4k but my 360 games that were able to on the one x can't? It's beyond disappointing. But there's no way I am buying a series x.

If my backward compatible games got bumped to 1080p 60fps with HDR I'd be a happy camper. I don't think people remember how bad some games resolutions were in the 360 era. They are the same if not worse than the switch today. That's not great and I say that as a switch owner.

I love how Xbox handles backwards compatibility. I use it all the time & love it.

@sixrings I share your thoughts as an XBOX ONE X owner.

The Series S still tempts me, but couldn’t go back to playing XBOX ONE X games in their S variants on the Series S! What would be the point?

@sixrings @playstation_king To be honest, Derek Strickland writes poor articles with a negative attitude towards Xbox. Series S is more capable than Series X as long as it renders at 1080p before upscaling. If Series S renders at 1440p, then is roughly as powerful as Series X at 4K. The numbers are proportionate and the Xbox development kits upscale games very easily. In a week or so they got Xbox One X versions up and running.

However, Xbox One and PS4 have current-gen CPUs and HDDs, so porting a next-gen game to Xbox One and PS4 is not as simple. The easiest thing that they can do is ditch the current-gen version and focus on next-gen consoles if they are so concerned. Even Xbox Game Studios are focusing more on the next-gen than they initially intended, and perhaps it's for the better. Rest assured that Series S won't be a problem at all. Only thing it lacks is the power to render at higher resolutions.

@Sylcolene Same. But it’s going to be a sticking point because come people have to find something wrong it.

@sixrings from the sound of it they’ll be apply series S “enhancements” to the games which could including going up 1440. Like the X version already, I think it’s going to depend on the game and dev what the resolution will ultimately be.

a 4k image is much larger and that means it also takes up a LOT more DATA in VRAM. The Series S does NOT have the VRAM to hold a 4k image and has been built for 1440p output. The XB1X has more RAM and at a higher bandwidth too - it was designed for 4k.

Its NOT about whether the GPU is as capable (or even more so) than the XB1X - it should have no issue rendering visuals to the same standard BUT it does NOT have the VRAM capability as it was built for '1440p'.

The GPU is designed to render images much faster - to deliver higher frame rates. If you cut the amount of time a GPU has to render a frame in half, you need a LOT more power or have to drop the Image Quality (resolution, visual settings etc). The Series S is using its GPU to render a frame much faster rather than render a higher resolutions. Drawing two 1440p frames (60fps) for every 1 4k frame (30ps) for example.

They can't go into ALL the X enhanced games and change the visual settings, reduce the output down to 1440p in BC - they either go for the XB1X settings - which this console is not built for or go for XB1S settings. That being said, some games are getting 'next' gen enhancements/upgrades free of charge - Gears 5 running at 120fps for example which would NOT be possible via BC because the frame rate would be capped at 60fps as it is on current gen. That's where the 'power' of the Series S GPU is being used for - rendering a lot more frames per second than the current gen can - not pushing out higher resolutions - that's what the Series X is for!!

@Luigia as a former xbox one x owner there is a huge difference from being able to play call of duty black ops at 900p versus red dead at 4k. That said many of the backward games I bought I didn't really enjoy because although the one x made them look great, modern controls and gameplay have improved so much over the years. But I do own all the splinter cells digitally and red dead which I thought was better than the sequel.

@BAMozzy honestly there isn't that many xbox one x enhanced games. If they have to redo them all to series s then that's basically what I expect. Otherwise I might find a cheaper Disney + box.

@BlueOcean quick question to you aswell off subject, does the gamepass that's coming to mobile on the 15th September include all the games in gamepass on xbox one? And will xbox series X games that are coming to gamepass also be on the mobile gamepass? As when I get paid at the end of this month I'm thinking of getting the razer kishi and gamepass ultimate for mobile but can't find a definite list of what will be included on the mobile version

@playstation_king The game selection will be confirmed when it launches officially. No, not all downloadable Game Pass games will be available on xCloud but perhaps that's their goal. There weren't any backward compatible games on the beta and not many third-party games either. I think that future games (Series games) that come to Game Pass will be available on xCloud but we'll see.

@playstation_king If I were you I would buy a Series S before the Razer Kishi that requires Game Pass Ultimate but will only give you xCloud.

@sixrings That's a LOT of games that devs would have to go in and do work on - not just Xbox Studios, but EVERY studio who made and released an XB1X enhanced game - its NOT feasible. It makes much more sense to limit the Series S to XB1S versions to ensure they ALL work via BC and let Devs decide IF they want to offer a Series S upgrade - like Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4 etc will be getting.

Its better to have EVERY game run via BC on Series S and the ONLY way to ensure that is by limiting BC to the XB1S version - although you will still see benefits - like more consistent frame rates and less dynamic resolution drops due to a better CPU/GPU. If you want the XB1X version of BC games that are NOT getting a Series X upgrade, buy the Series X!

@sixrings there are ton of “X Enhanced” games !?!

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/xbox-one/xbox-one-x-enhanced-list?&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwwOz6BRCgARIsAKEG4FVGh0jToIL0bV7pLF-R0RiLZ65a9syGRk9Ci-gvP7djSmu6oZ-wy0kaAvuSEALw_wcB:G:s&OCID=AID2100215_SEM_Cj0KCQjwwOz6BRCgARIsAKEG4FVGh0jToIL0bV7pLF-R0RiLZ65a9syGRk9Ci-gvP7djSmu6oZ-wy0kaAvuSEALw_wcB:G:s#tabletitle

@mousieone Yeah, I have hundreds of games and over half of them are Xbox One X enhanced.

Specifically I was referring to 360 and OG xbox games that got the Xbox one x enhancements.

yes there are a ton of Xbox one games which got xbox one x enhancements but that wasn't what I was talking about.

@sixrings All the original Xbox games are enhanced and a decent amount of 360 games are.

@BlueOcean I cant find a list. Maybe 50. And not all xbox games are capable of playing. The few games which are capable are enhanced.

39 according to this list

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_backward-compatible_games_for_Xbox_One#Xbox_One_X_enhancements

@sixrings okay I see. But I’m pretty sure the “smart delivery” settings for system checks are universal.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if the games that are already X enhanced to get a Series S enhancement. But again lots of extra work behind the scenes.

@sixrings quite a bit worse than switch. Switch is more powerful than wiiu, which was, at the time about half way between 360 and OG One....

However, some games like assassin's Creed 1 are using the pc textures on x1x bc which makes a ton of difference. Not sure how XSeS fares there.

@NEStalgia all I know is that black ops was a BC game and it looked like garbage on my one meanwhile Read Dead a BC xbox one enhanced game looked like a remastered deluxe edition. And when I say remastered I don't mean it in the Nintendo sort of way but rather the PlayStation sort of way.

@mousieone "there are ton of “X Enhanced” games !?!"

Yea, but other than those 829 games... there aint nothin! 🙃

@sixrings Of course but we are talking about backwards compatible games with Xbox One X enhancements so I assume we are talking about the Xbox games available on Xbox One X, not on the 2001 console 😂. I haven't counted how many Xbox 360 games are enhanced but most of the ones I have are, all the Rare Replay games, all the Gears of War, all the Fable games, Sonic Generations, Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, Read Dead Redemption, The Witcher 2... That stance seems a bit pessimistic, if you ask me.

@Tharsman 39 360 enhanced games.

@BlueOcean I'm missing the joke. I'll be honest free online and I'll forget this whole backward compatibility thing. I just wanted to play red dead in as close to 4k again.

@Tharsman oh you gave me the giggles I can’t stop 🤣

@sixrings "I just wanted to play red dead in as close to 4k again."

You'll have to get a Series X as I'll do. It's the only way of preserving these free remasters that are actually better than current-gen full-priced Nintendo's remasters 😁 and, like you said, like PS4 remasters (but without paying more than once).

For what its worth, I do expect the Series X, with its added horsepower, be able to add new optimizations to 360 games that didn't get them before simply because the One X was still not strong enough to force the upgrades. I am crossing my fingers Series X will do just as One X does now with OG Xbox games, and add high-res and high framerate to every single 360 game in the BC list.

Only reason I would get a Series S is as a spare room device that will rarely be used. Now, if Console Streaming becomes a thing that any XBox can do (as a client) then I might reconsider getting Series S, or hell, One S devices, as pure terminals.

@BlueOcean I agree that they are free and better than Nintendo's full price remaster but I just didn't care too much for the games. Now if outrun 2 was included maybe. I'll just accept that my backwards compatibility sucks as I don't want to spend that much this year on a system.

@sixrings Fair enough, you won't get 4K textures on Series S but games will be upscaled to 4K if you play on a 4K TV.

@sixrings you could always wait and see what the quality is. If it’s acceptable, get one? I’m sure DF will do a bunch of comparisons.

@mousieone I can't wait for the DF comparisons, not only for next-gen games but for current-gen and backwards compatible games. It's fascinating what they have achieved on Xbox One X and I can't wait to see what Series S and X can do!

I thought this might be the case after seeing the Digital Foundry video earlier as they all but confirmed it, it's unfortunate but understandable...
Any slight chance of me getting the Series S has now gone, it's Series X all the way...
(Don't wish to be playing my One X Enhanced games as One S versions on Next Gen, I see no point in that..)

@BANJO I thought the one DF guy was skeptical but the other DF guy said we had to wait for confirmation.

Yes, they based their opinion on the spec's and just thought it was very likely to be the case. They hadn't had any confirmation from Microsoft so couldn't state anything as fact at the time which is the safe thing to do...

@mousieone and i think in the future, it will comes down with how many playerbase on xbox series s, because if many people buy the S, developer will put their time and a lot of effort to optimize it. I think it's more or the same with Nintendo Switch right now.
And even mark cerny itself said that ps4 tflops is not the same as ps5 tflops, so it also aplies to flops in SS is not the same as on One X
But they're sony fanboy afterall 😂
Sorry for my bad english

@Sylcolene The great thing about Xbox is that it runs Windows and that the Xbox development kits are prepared for scaling easily between Series X and S.

@Sylcolene sorry this took so long to respond. Yeah I’m not sure what next gen is going to look like, and yes Mark Cerny did say there is a lot more at play than teraflops. I think we all just need to relax and let the gen happen before making up our minds.

Your English is just fine

@BlueOcean totally missed your comments on the flurry. Yeah DF comparisons should be interesting. I’m not sure how many previous ones they’ll do but if the do AC Valhalla that’s going to be interesting ... what with with 7 consoles and PC >.< oh boy

@playstation_king <interjection> I spent the weekend trying out a Razer Kishi, and I really like it “overall”. I will say you need good internet connection, or it becomes a pixelated mess. I would assume Series X games are coming to mobile because next year they are updated xCloud to Series X blades, at some point. So you should start getting the Series X games, but I would be very surprised if MS didn’t put their first party games on the service. The only game I know is not coming right away is The Medium. I’d say at the moment a Kishi is a good investment, provided you can find one- trust me when I say that wasn’t easy. Anyway, you can always pick up an Xbox “Series” when games like Avowed start showing up.

We will find game list Tuesday, which is exciting. And then maybe the PS5 reveal will have some cool games in it as well

All in all buckle up next week looks good ;D

@mousieone thanks for the heads up, would it be better if I got an xbox one controller with a mount?

@playstation_king well you could but I’d recommend one that can be “wired” like the Moga one. The Kishi is a “wired” connection so the latency is lower. Also, it feels the most natural and easier for extend play. Honestly the Kishi was good; it’s just a bit hard to find, not impossible. My major issue is that if you are used to Switch; the Kishi isn’t as stable so the left side may move. It’s not loose though. Also the D pad is ehh it’s okay. At least it’s a D Pad

In meantime, while you are looking for Kishi you can sync a Bluetooth controller like your PS4 one and buy a cheaper clip.

@mousieone just subscribed for a month to try it out using my dualshock 4, it's ok no real lag but I'm using headphones and the sound is choppy/stuttering in places

@playstation_king hmm I haven’t used it headphones yet, but I don’t have the issue either. Through the phone speaker is was just fine. That’s too bad. I hope doesn’t detract from your experience.

Maybe try the forums?

(I wish I was more helpful)