Bethesda recently added a 60 frames per second option to Starfield on Xbox Series X but left the Xbox Series S version out in the cold. Thankfully modders have stepped in to save the day, as they so often do.
As verified by the tech wizards at Digital Foundry, Starfield on the less-powerful Xbox Series S can now be played at 30fps thanks to mods (search for ‘Series S’ under the mod menu). Using mods, Digital Foundry found Starfield on Xbox Series S hit a baseline of 60fps even on challenging GPU-limited areas of the game, such as heavily populated cities, with some less-demanding areas rising to 90fps.
However, it’s worth noting that playing Starfield on Xbox Series S in this way drops the resolution to 1280×720 from 1600×900. “We seem to be finding the limits of FSR 2 upscaling quality, with some ugly artefacting,” Digital Foundry reports. “Even so, you are getting a viable performance mode — it’s just that the trades are far more obvious to the eye than the Series X version.”
The inevitable next question is that if modders can get Starfield running at 60fps, why hasn’t Bethesda? Digital Foundry said the reduced resolution that comes with such improved frame-rate performance means “Starfield simply isn’t a particularly attractive game at this point.” Bethesda, Digital Foundry suggests, may not feel this trade-off presents Starfield in as good a light as it requires.
Starfield’s performance on Xbox Series S may not be front of mind for Bethesda in any case. Last week, Bethesda Game Studios chief Todd Howard responded to a backlash over Starfield paid mods, confirming the developer would take a look at its pricing model for Creations content.
On Steam, Starfield’s recent user review rating fell to ‘Mostly Negative’ after disgruntled players hit out at Bethesda for charging $7 for a single Starfield mission. The second mission of the recently released Trackers Alliance is only available as a Starfield Creation and costs $7, or 700 credits.
Looking further ahead, Howard has confirmed plans to release a second story expansion for Starfield following this year’s Shattered Space, and commented on the long development of The Elder Scrolls 6.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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