Update (Wed 25th Nov, 2020 23:00 GMT): Ubisoft has confirmed today that a patch will be going live for Assassin's Creed Valhalla this week that improves performance on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Original story: There have been reports over the past week that some third-party Xbox Series X games haven't been running quite as well on the system compared to their PS5 counterparts, including Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
In a video published last Wednesday, industry experts Digital Foundry noted that the PS5 version of the game delivered a "15 per cent performance advantage" over the Xbox Series X in some scenarios, and while this was suggested to be a "development tools" issue (and not hardware related), it still drew plenty of concern from the Xbox community.
Today, in a statement to The Verge, Microsoft has acknowledged that it's working on these issues with developers for a "handful" of titles to get them rectified and "ensure an optimal experience":
“We are aware of performance issues in a handful of optimized titles on Xbox Series X|S and are actively working with our partners to identify and resolve the issues to ensure an optimal experience. As we begin a new console generation, our partners are just now scratching the surface of what next-gen consoles can do and minor bug fixes are expected as they learn how to take full advantage of our new platform. We are eager to continue working with developers to further explore the capability of Xbox Series X|S in the future.”
Developers' time with the Game Developers Kit has been reported to have been on a "rather tight schedule", which has most likely attributed to the problems some are experiencing with certain Xbox Series X|S optimised games.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer also told The Verge in an interview yesterday that the company was "a little bit later than the competition" in building Series X consoles because they were "waiting for some specific AMD technology in our chip".
Fortunately, fixes are already underway for some of the issues that have been reported so far - Dirt 5 technical director David Springate, for example, has confirmed that a fix for visual problems in the game's 120Hz mode is in the works.
Have you been playing any optimised titles and experienced any problems? Let us know in the comments below.
[source theverge.com]
Comments 56
I wouldn't have expected anything less. It would be stupid of Microsoft and completely ridiculous as well, to allow the weaker system to take the spotlight as the platform with the better performance.
I think this issue is generally being over-reacted to. It is too early in the generation to make any real determinations about relative performance. The examples we have so far don't really show anything conclusive unless you want them to.
Most of them show some parts of the game running better on XSX and other parts running better on PS5. Fanboys for either console seem to jump in and only consider 1 part of that equation.
I think these early games will get fixed and run just as good on series x. However it’s not the start you want in the general public eye when you say you have the most powerful console.
Anyway it’s not this Microsoft really has to worry about, it’s Sony first party games, Sony have just had there best release day games in decades, following up with GT7, Ratchet and Clank, Returnal and Horizon Zero Dawn 2 next year. Also the duelsense is the main item most people mention at work as well.
@Dezzy70
Microsoft doesn’t have to “worry” about Sony’s first party games. Both companies can do well without the other one suffering. I’m not sure why you PlayStation guys have this mentality. 🙄
And I wouldn’t say Spider-Man DLC & remaster of a PS3 game has Microsoft shivering in fear. Lol. The Series X & S are sold out everywhere too. Both companies can thrive, which benefits us gamers.
I don’t think most people would even notice/care, unless you ran the games side-by-side.
I withhold my judgement until the Velocity Architecture is implemented.
@KelticDevil
Well business is business and of course they can both survive, Microsoft a lot more than Sony has they are rich and consoles are a small part of their business. I wonder sometimes why Microsoft even bother with it. But if your are running the business as separate business on its own which Microsoft budget wise do, then every sale of a console, game or controller to the competition that could have been yours loses you money.
Like I have always said, if Xbox one had sold 130 million, Phil and the team would have been lighting the Cuban cigars.
Their new direction with game pass etc is great and bold and at some point in the future be the normal, not this new generation but maybe a console less one the generation after this, only time will tell.
@Kefka2589
Totally agree on game pass, I much prefer a console under my tv. And as we know internet infrastructure is not there yet. And also 4K and 120fps etc will take some bandwidth streaming wise. I honestly hope we never go full streaming and the console stays forever, giving the best performance.
This whole PlayStation vs Xbox power struggle is honestly so tiresome at this point and the comment section highlights it.
The fact is, its still early days so the consoles are going to have some hiccups with features, software etc.
But you aren’t going to find a Sony first party level title on Xbox, at least not till 2022. And you aren’t going to have a service like GP on PlayStation at all, because Sony can’t afford that risk or loss.
Digital Foundary will tell you whats powerful and who performs better and honestly it makes zero difference. Both consoles are sold out everywhere and will continue to do so for the next year. Both consoles will be supported for the next 5+ years with top quality titles and services and you will all sit and enjoy them regardless of console.
I know i’ll have both eventually, and i’ll enjoy what both provide.
Rant over. Will probably deleted later.
@KelticDevil
You rule Keltic, Couldnt agree more, Why wish for failure on one platform is beyond me. My box is better than your box, what are we 5 year olds???
Surely these performance issues are nothing more than the expected teething troubles. I understand PS5 has been slightly easier to develop for, but give it a bit of time and the gap between will close.
@Dezzy70 Sony games sell decently. They're successful as a publisher. But the internet of PS fandom would have you believe that they're these power house titles, when in reality they sell only a fraction of the even moderately big third party multiplats, and considering the cost to produce them (that Jim Ryan keeps lamenting about while simultaneously upping the budgets), they're not actually making tremendous amount of return on them. For both companies, most if their revenue comes in from the subs and the 3rd party licensing. No doubt COD:CW licencing alone grosses more in net profit than HzD2 and GoW2 will pull in, combined. Those pull more gross, but minus tremendous cost, isn't worth the sheer pure profit the COD licensing. Minimum $10 per copy, plus $60/yr for Plus to play it. And they spent nary a dime on it.
This third party performance matters a great deal to both companies, and XSX is designed to bank on being the better performer for them, which is why it's a big issue to be the weaker performer at launch.
But with MS directly stepping in to work with the devs, as I hoped, that goes a long way to ensuring solid performance in the future. These companies are hamstrung by their familiarity and ease of use and adapting to the dev kit. If left on their own they may phone it in. If MS is investing in directly helping with toolkit optimization, they're providing "free" R&D and training to the studios, which is a significant expense on their part, and a significant value to the devs.
@Kefka2589
I’m I the UK and the role out for fibre broadband is rubbish. I’m in a built up area at 6mb it’s totally bad and a right pain. All UK big projects get managed wrong, cost extra and take bloody ages.
We have been at it for ten years at least.
At times I wonder how gaming would have been without Digital Foundry constantly flaming these frame rate/resolution wars.
Most games these days have some really advanced tech to render in lower resolution and output in higher res and still look very sharp.
And I personally never understood the obsession with frame rate that leaked from PC elitists into console gaming. All in all I still believe Microsoft needs to look into this, Series X deservers better! First losing Halo at launch and now these performance metrics on 3rd party titles.
Yeah but didn't Black Ops Cold War peform better on Series X..
@BrilliantBill we’d still have flame wars; it just wouldn’t be about the frames.
@NEStalgia
Well I sort of think, Sony sold a lot of consoles on exclusivity of games and having the weaker console, one x being the king. And Microsoft knows this hence buying up to 23 studios in totally
Which will mainly create exclusive Xbox environment games. The one x did not help Microsoft that much. Look at third party sales say from Ubisoft etc bigger sales on PS4.
Exclusives give reason for people to buy that particular brand over the other. Microsoft for now are trying to get people on board with super value with game pass, and then hopefully some exclusives if and when their 23 studios deliver.
Will be interesting to see how it all pans out on the future. But if I was betting man, I would having money on a repeat of last generation, worldwide at least 2:1 console sales wise to Sony and maybe even more. I know at work 7 PS5 owners and zero series x. And that is not being biased or because of any reason. I work with 800 people and that’s my own general survey.
@BrilliantBill
Series X deserves a lot better, blame Microsoft management of studios etc for that. I just hope they don’t screw up all those studios they have purchased. The Halo situation could have not been handled any worse and not sure what is going on with the third party performance.
And don’t get me started the fact even the series x still has hdmi cec switch connection issues and hdr play ups on my tv. The Xbox one x did as well.
PS4, PS4 Pro, Wii U, Nintendo Switch no issues.
It’s how Microsoft implement hdmi switching and hdr, they never ducking learn even on a new series x console. It’s better but not perfect like all the other consoles. My Samsung Q90R and LG CX love my PS4 PRO, PS5 and Switch, but have a temperamental connection relationship with Xbox one and now series x.
@Dezzy70 “ Series X deserves a lot better, blame Microsoft management of studios etc for that. ”
The only studio that’s being “mismanaged” is 343I. The Coalition has been good for Gears as of late and Playgrounds’ FH4 was top notch, Turn 10’s Motorsport is nothing to sneeze at. Minecraft is chugging along. I recognize the lost of Halo is problem but it’s hardly rampant with all the other studios. If anything a lot of them had to burn the midnight oil to make up for Halo.
I get we don’t have a new big game to play. But you act like all the studios are turning in horrid games.
It’ll come good, just give it time. There is already evidence with the likes of Ray tracing performing better in CoD. PS5 will always have the speed advantage with loading times, but even then it’s a few extra seconds on the X, not a big deal.
I was talking to my friend who has the PS5 and he was making out the load times are a big deal, I think PS5 owners don’t realise the X is absolutely no slouch in loading times either, even if it is slightly slower.
In all fairness the difference is probably not worth an article. My plan was to get PS5 and Series X and to purchase multi platform games on Series X but to be honest I might just wait on my Series X purchase (like I have a choice!) as I'm happy with my PS5 at the moment and these sort of articles makes me think this gen will be very close in performance when before the release I got the impression on here that there would be a huge gulf between the two. Must admit I fell for the 'most powerful console ever' hype. For me the best option is to wait for the Series X exclusives to roll out, particularly the Bethesda games, them jump head first into the Game Pass thing in a few years.
@Kefka2589
Yes I think Xbox might just get the US market and maybe the UK, it depends on exclusives. My son is PS all the way because of exclusives, however even he said if Xbox gives him a good few exclusive reasons, then Xbox as well as PS he has a PS5 at the minute of course, he’s a Destiny 2 nut job 😂. Don’t get me wrong he likes a bit of Forza Horizon 4 and a little bit of Gears. But when a Last of Us 2, Uncharted, God of war, ghost of t and Horizon Zero Dawn etc come along he’s gone.
He says he gets the best exclusives and the multiplate games and is not missing much really on Xbox. Let’s see what happens.
@John117 @Challenger-UK
Thanks guys. It just seems like some Sony fans just can’t understand why/how Microsoft is doing something different, so they knock it.
Sony can do it their way & have success, obviously. And Xbox can have success too. Heck, Nintendo does their own thing completely & they are doing just fine. And for us gamers, it’s a huge 👍🏻 when you have choice, variety, & competition.
@Kefka2589
May I ask for your gamertag ? Mine is my name here, Challenger UK
AC Valhalla update coming out tomorrow that includes fixing stability, including screen tearing for Series X/S.
Also brings two options;
Performance mode also coming to Series S owners, so they can now play Valhalla at 60 FPS, but no info on what resolution range that will adapt to.
@Dezzy70 Sure, the exclusives are used to move hardware, to grow the install base, to get those third party dollars/euros/pounds. MS used to be strong on that as well, then Matrick decided they don't need exclusives and shut it all down. It's been a long road to rebuild that. It looks like it will be, but it's going to be on a few years delay, it can't all be rebuilt with 5-7 year dev cycles overnight, and the back half of the gen will probably be loaded for MS. In the mean-time though their schtick is the value of Game Pass and being the best performer of 3rd party games. The hardware should be more than capable of doing that, so this is all software/devkit experience issues creeping in. PS5 just clocks higher so if they take their PS4/X1 game and port it quick to both consoles, PS5 edges ahead. Ironically it's those games MS should be excelling in and the future "built for new gen" ones should be where Sony can show some advantage from their IO. It's definitely a problem that needs to be fixed for them in the present.
If they can cement XSX, which it should be, as the better place for all the popular games, that's a big feather in their cap. And yeah, PS4 games outsold X1 games because X1 was a disaster and failure for half the gen. X1 helped shore up the install base and signal they were here to play for real...but the install base out there for PS4 was already huge by then, and that wasn't going to change. The new gen is a reset on that. Until the MS exclusives arrive, it's XBox value vs. PS exclusives. And really it's value marketing versus sony's brand marketing.
There are analysts predicting PS will outsell XB by far, but at the same time it can't be a repeat because last time Sony sold so high because they had no competition. Absolutely zero. XBox shot itself in both feet at E3, and WiiU shot itself in the foot, then stabbed itself, and then fell into the shark pool a full year before that. Just being up against Switch and XSXS, PLUS PS4 itself is stronger competition by far. I don't see it getting so unbalanced so easily this time. Plus the UK is Playstationland XBox is a lot more "everywhere" in the states, so you can't really rely on regional numbers. Different regions, different platform. And global numbers for PS can easily exceed XB because PS is simply in more countries than XB. In the US market, XB is quite strong. Even the One didn't do half bad, but previous gens it was simply everywhere. It's very strong in South America as well.
Still, it's a different market. Sony's still doing the Nintendo/Sega game of selling exclusives to sell hardware. MS is focused on the wholistic platform of cloud/PC/XBox.....the raw console numbers will end up below PS I'm sure. But that also misses the larger game. They're selling a family of platforms and services that are under the XBOx platform and they all compliment each other. By the end of the gen we have to look at PC players buing GP/MS Store, the number of cloud subscribers etc. Collectively, all of it is XBox, and it's all their install base as far as selling to third parties. That makes it hard to compare 1:1 vs what sony's sales numbers are. If the consoles capture the US, and the cloud & PC markets capture a lot worldwide....that's all XBox players.
I've seen a number of graphical issues with several games - basically, coloured glowing balls of light. Its very prominent at the edges of the screen in Poker Club, sometimes happens in Rogue Company (before the XS patch) during playthroughs and I briefly saw a similar issue on the menu screens of Monster Hunter (no series x optimised) but only whilst playing with the graphics options (which state you need to restart for the effect to take effect - once restarted, the effect was gone).
It sort of looks like HDR / lens flair gone into overdrive and has been seen by other users in Rogue and poker club according to reddit. At forst I thought I had a broken console but the 20 oir so other games (a mix of graphically demanding xs and bc games) have been absolutely flawless so I think its a software rather than hardware fault.
@mousieone we argued about graphics way before digital foundry. Which mortal kombat looked better. How about NBA jam. Snes vs jaguar vs genesis vs Sega cd vs playstation vs Saturn. We just used print images to compare.
Btw the playstation vs of Raiden absolutely destroyed the snes copy. Where is my Raiden hamster arcade archives?
@Dezzy70
A couple issues with what you said.....
Microsoft doesn’t care if the PS5 outsells the XSX. Microsoft just wants you in their ecosystem. That can be on XSX, XSS, Xbox One S/X, cell phone, PC, whatever.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like Microsoft doesn’t want to sell Xboxes. But they just do things differently than Sony. I love their business model. Game Pass is ridiculous value & the best deal in gaming.
And I get that everyone you know has a PS5 (if they can get one) & you are in the UK. I am in the US and most I know bought an XSX (if they can get one) or just sticking with Xbox One for now & have no interest in a PS5.
It’s just different regions & different tastes. But everyone I know has Game Pass. 👍🏻
Thanks Ubisoft. Was waiting for this 60fps patch so now i can buy the game ☺️
Because of a PS5 bundle I didn't really want (thanks Gamestop!) I ended up with AC Valhalla on both systems and quite frankly if you can truly see any difference between the two, you need to get a life. Both versions look decidedly last gen to me but if PS5 gets the edge per Digital Foundry's tests, then so be it. It's a wickedly fun game but graphically it's a huge disappointment on both consoles right now. I feel the exact same way about Dirt 5, it's a blast to play but looks a bit meh.
That said, MK11 on my Series X is mindblowing in every possible way. I couldn't stand the lengthy loading times with MK11 on XB1X (I'm an old school SF2/MK kid so the very idea of loading times in between fights seems stupid) but man, it's absolutely amazing.
Devs will figure this stuff out. They always do. Much ado about nothing.
@swedetrap hmmm really Ultimate edition that good? I could be tempted to double dip for that.
Lmao getting an amazing kick out of fanboys promoting their console war in every thread until it doesn't suit the narrative because Microsoft are losing and it's all can't we just get along?!?
Pathetic.
@mousieone I'd be inclined to give it a 10/10 and I can't think of a modern fighting game I'd score above an 8. The whole 'loading...' thing ruined the genre for me I think, but it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying to love 'em.
I swear, Sony fanboys are some of the most insecure people on the planet.
I suspect this is mostly due to a few reasons
1. Reportedly Xbox dev kits were out for a shorter time than PlayStations which left devs with less time to spend optimising games for Xbox
2. Surprisingly most devs have reported that PS5 is super easy to develop for, with little learning curve compare to PS4. That’s not to say Xbox is hard at all, I think it had less room to make up. This is good for gamers.
3. Devs have spent less time optimising for Series S than the Series X and PS5. Hopefully not a trend that will continue.
We are now at a time where the systems are powerful enough and codebases complex enough that if a developer was to spend an extra two weeks optimising the XSX or PS5 version that version would likely run better than the other.
Look at what Moon Studios achieved with Ori on Switch (a technological marvel). By spending time refining and optimising their code they managed to get it running at a solid 60fps when the original Xbox one release struggled.
TLDR: don’t read into these comparisons too much they do little but fuel fanboy BS. Series X will come good. Hopefully Series S will have as much time spent on it as it’s big brother. I don’t expect much difference between the two main consoles, developers will aim for parity. If there is a difference you will usually have to slow down footage and zoom in to see it, almost unnoticeable at 4K 60 while actually playing. The future is bright.
Definitely something they need to be looking at. Not a big issue this early on (especially as it isn’t every game anyway) but by this time next year they will need to be able to claim at least parity, ideally more. Good to see them acknowledge the issue rather than stick their head in the sand.
@KelticDevil Be sure not to feed the troll...
@ThanosReXXX
Haha. Good point. 😉
Previous generation i was more towards PS, but man this generation, it will be Xbox SX. What a beast of an console, also the controllers are serious out of this world!
Also the companys they have under their belt, cant wait to see what they all are coocking.
@KelticDevil I already reported his @ss, because literally ALL his comments were pro Sony/anti Xbox, and apparently, the mods have already acted upon it, seeing as he and his comments are gone now.
@TRU3_100 True, to some extent, but I wasn't just talking about Teraflops and the answer here is that the equation is greater than just the sum of its parts.
The Xbox Series X actually IS the more powerful platform, whichever way you look at it, but just like in a Formula 1 race: just because you drive the Ferrari, doesn't mean you will always win, but you'll still have the strongest team regardless...
@TRU3_100
This is an Xbox website. And in almost every article, several people from Push Square come over here & just highjack every comment section into a PlayStation comment section. It’s ridiculous. Even if the article has nothing to do with Sony.
If you go over to Push Square, how many Xbox fans are in those comment sections ripping on PlayStation? Almost none. Why? Because we are too busy playing games & have better things to do in our lives.
The editors here do a great job in reporting news & celebrating Xbox. And there are some genuinely good fans of both systems that frequent both websites. But the PS trolls are what ruins it & they should be dealt with, as they consistently take things off-topic & are, clearly, here just to troll.
I am not saying that this is you, necessarily. But I would hate to see that cesspool of a fanbase at Push Square ruin what is a great Xbox website & community here.
@TRU3_100 Well, my point was nothing other than what I already mentioned, but I'll try to be more clear: just because Sony has now shown/proven to be better at running certain third party titles on their hardware, doesn't mean that we can assume that any and all third party titles will run better on the PS5, an assumption that now seems to be gaining traction among some people.
And speaking of gaining traction: that is something that the Xbox is now already doing, so the current difference in and advantage of running third party titles on PS5 will soon be completely nullified.
@TRU3_100 And no, I did not report you, because you come across as a reasonable human being, with a well thought out set of comments, whereas the other guy instantly came across as a salty Sony troll, starting almost all of his comments with "lmfao", and not just towards me, but also towards others, such as @KelticDevil.
And I do mean almost ALL of his comments. I checked his profile, and leafed through most of them, and there was hardly a normal reaction between them.
Look, I'm perfectly fine with people preferring one system over the other, but I don't understand people coming to a dedicated site of the opposing platform to act as an abbrassive troll.
And besides: if me reporting him had no validity according to this site's moderators, then they would have told me off and/or they would have left his comments be.
And for the record: when I reported him, I personally did not ask for them to remove all of his comments, only to address him about the trolling.
@TRU3_100 this is what the toxic fanboys do on here. If you don’t agree with what they say or if you dare criticise Xbox you get called a Sony fanboy & get told to go back to pushsquare. Absolute embarrassment the fanboys here, it makes you wonder why they even bother. Toxic fanboys that get the magic sock out just over a plastic box. Best thing to do is put them all on ignore, it helps you, keeps the threads toxic free & allows open & honest opinions being allowed to be posted.
@ThanosReXXX
Well said. 👍🏻
@KelticDevil Thanks. I guess we long-standing members understand each other. Just enjoy what you want to enjoy, and be sensible enough to forego bashing the other team, just because of "reasons".
But, eh... you can't win them all, right? So, I guess that means that I'm a toxic Xbox "fanboy" now, even though I'm WAY too old to be a boy, and have always been, and will always be, a multi-platform owner...
@ThanosReXXX
Yes, we do. I am also an old man. Haha! I’ve been doing this since the Atari days. And even though I am not a multi platform gamer these days (I love Xbox & don’t have time for much else), I have owned ever major console from every major company up until this last-gen.
I also don’t get this thinking where just because I own one console, I want the other ones to fail. This is awful thinking because the industry needs competition to be successful. Look at the pure arrogance of Nintendo, Sony, & Microsoft when they had “won” the previous generation & think they are on top.
I’m not sure why Sony fans don’t get this? But whatever. Lol.
@TRU3_100 "theres a reason why Demon's Souls is the best looking game out right now"
Because it's running at 1400p without any ray tracing? Or because it has beautifully crafted artwork regardless of the fairly mediocre rendering performance? It's absolutely a beautiful looking game, but i wouldn't hold it up as an example of technical performance. Even miles is outperforming it on a technical level by a wide margin.
@KelticDevil No, you got it all wrong, you see. The Xbox has been the console for losers, ever since it lost the last generation to almighty Sony, according to popular belief, so no matter how much good Phil Spencer does, it'll never be enough. Once a loser, and so on....
/end sarcasm
@ThanosReXXX
Haha! Once again, we’ll said! 😉
@TRU3_100 truthfully there is no reason that game shouldn't be running native 4k on both ps5 and xsx. Now with this new patch, supposedly it runs 4k30 with no raytracing, same as what souls can do. Which is honestly not an impressive demonstration of either piece of hardware, so boo to both Ubi and Bluepoint.
I'm not throwing console fanboy wars shots, i was comparing two ps5 games highlighting that the comparison to souls didn't make sense considering it's not a very well performing game technically, it just has a great art design that renders the performance less relevant.....
I'm not sure why a conversation about game technical performance then became a comparison of a pack in family friendly tech demos ratings against a niche RTS originally meant for PC, but okay.
@sixrings exactly lol people. The fight would rage on haha
@KelticDevil I have noticed this today myself. Someone here constantly calling everyone ‘fanboys’ has just been over at push square calling us all ‘fanboys’ and saying how bad we are over here.
In fact I’ve found this thread to be much more of a measured conversation. There is a lot of blind loyalty to the holy emperor over there.
@Fenbops
Just out of curiosity, I ventured over there & looked up the article you were referring to & read some of the comments.......😳
It’s an absolute cesspool. And the funny part is, most of the awful ones were ones I have “ignored” from over here. 😂
As a video game fan, it was embarrassing to see those comments. They are sad, little people. 🙄
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