The Xbox Series X has baked-in boost mode functionality that will upgrade select current-gen games to run at native 4K.
Microsoft's next-gen Xbox is fully backward compatible with every Xbox One game, but it'll actually play all of these games better. Xbox Series X has two ways to boost in-game performance of older games: Native upgrades that're performed on a system level, and enhancement patches issued out by developers. What's incredible is that some first-party games will actually mix the benefits of both.
Microsoft today confirmed that select current-gen Xbox One games will be automatically boosted to native 4K resolution on UHD displays. The system's 3.8GHz Zen 2 CPU and Navi GPU-outfitted hardware handles all the work, and there's no optimizations from the developer. Devs don't have to touch their games at all and there's no downloads. The games are simply automatically upgraded by the system itself, and is part of the console's new robust software stack and expanded backward compatibility support.
Here's how Microsoft explains the feature: "Native Resolution is an Xbox Series X backwards compatibility enhancement for select Xbox One games that allows them to render at native 4K even if they weren't originally designed for 4K."
The Xbox back compat team was able to get Gears of War: Ultimate, a game from 2015, to run at native 4K on the Xbox Series X.
Xbox's backward compatibility team sees the Xbox Series X as a veritable playground, and rightly so. The system's massively synergized hardware is designed specifically to work together and enable expansive performance, whether it be dramatically boosting older games
"The team came and told us about Xbox Series X. They said 'What can you do with even more power?' So, the challenge was set. They gave us the Xbox One X and it was like we got this big playground to play with," said Peggy Lo, Principal Program Management Lead, Backward Compatibility.
"Then we got the Xbox Series X and it was like we had a whole amusement park to play in."
Read Also: Xbox Series X SSD is revolutionary, changes Xbox gaming forever
Devs can take backward compatibility optimizations even further.
On the enhancement patches front, which requires devs to issue out downloads with improved assets that enhance backward compatible games, devs can tap the console's full hardware to hit insane load times, 100FPS+, and use new features like ray tracing. Digital Foundry claims that all Xbox One X enhanced games have full access to the Xbox Series X's 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU and 12.15TFLOP Navi GPU.
After two weeks, The Coalition got Gears 5 running at over 100FPS at PC ultra preset settings, with perf equivalent to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080. There was also ray tracing effects, boosted volumetric lighting and fog, and cinematics now run at 60FPS.
"The team showcased a technical demo of Gears 5, powered by Unreal Engine, for Xbox Series X using the full PC Ultra Spec settings, which included higher resolution textures and higher resolution volumetric fog, as well as a 50% higher particle count than the PC Ultra Specs allowed. They also showed off the opening cutscene, which now runs at 60 FPS in 4K (it was 30 FPS on Xbox One X), meaning the transition from real-time cutscenes to gameplay is incredibly smooth," Microsoft said in an Xbox Wire post.
This kind of performance is made possible to the new unified and cyclic Xbox Series X's hardware. All of the system's parts, the 7nm SoC, the customized 16GB GDDR6 memory pool, and the new PCIe 4.0 SSD with its compression-based DirectStorage API and Velocity Architecture were built from the ground up for two purposes: Synergy and power.
The SSD feeds assets to the RAM faster than ever before thanks to the DirectStorage compression system and PCIe 4.0 interface, which feeds it right to the super-charged CPU that's made specifically to feed the 12.15TFLOP Navi 2x GPU, which then outputs it to your screen. Now even current-gen (and maybe even older-game) Xbox games can tap that kind of synergistic power.
This is just the beginning, too. Expect all of Microsoft's first-party games to look and play incredibly well on the new hardware. Expect ray tracing, 120FPS, maybe even 8K resolution. Microsoft is careful to say that only select games will get natively boosted to native 4K resolution, but the ones that aren't could get enhancement patches that make it possible anyway.
Xbox Series X is due out by Holiday 2020. No pricing has been announced.
Check below for confirmed specs and details, and a huge content listing of everything we've heard about Xbox Series X so far:
Xbox Series X confirmed details (Formerly Project Scarlett):
- 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU
- 12.15 TFLOP Navi GPU on RDNA 2 architecture
- 7nm+ AMD SoC
- 16GB GDDR6 memory
- 2x Xbox One X's 6TFLOPs of GPU perf
- 4x CPU power of Xbox One generation
- Can deliver up to 40x more performance than Xbox One in specific use cases
- Adaptive sync supported
- Super-fast SSD that can be used as VRAM
- Supports 8K resolution (likely media playback)
- 120FPS gaming
- Variable refresh rate (adaptive sync/FreeSync)
- Variable Rate Shading
- Raytracing confirmed with dedicated raytracing cores
- Backward compatible with thousands of Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games
- New controller with a dedicated share button
- Compatible with Xbox One accessories
Xbox Series X coverage:
- Xbox Series X SSD is revolutionary, changes Xbox gaming forever
- Full Xbox Series X specs: 3.8GHz Zen 2 CPU, 16GB GDDR6, 52CU Navi GPU
- Gears 5 runs at Ultra PC settings on Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series X's Smart Delivery game upgrades explained by Microsoft
- Xbox Series X may enhance Xbox 360, OG Xbox games too
- Xbox Series X's new Quick Resume function is revolutionary
- Microsoft: Xbox Series X's real magic is hardware and software synergy
- Xbox Series X enhancement patches will upgrade current-gen games
- Microsoft: Xbox Series X's real magic is hardware and software synergy
- Xbox Series X natively plays all Xbox games better
- Xbox Series X 12 TFLOP GPU confirmed, 4x Xbox One CPU and 8x GPU power
- Xbox Series X packs dedicated audio hardware acceleration
- How publishers will approach current-gen on PS5, Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 pricing expected to be $500
- Xbox studio using AI to upscale low-res textures in real-time
- Coronavirus may delay PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X launch past 2020
- Xbox Series X may support CFExpress memory cards
- Xbox Series X might support UltraWide monitors thanks to Samsung
- Xbox Series X CPU is the key to next-gen frame rates, Spencer teases
- China trade tariffs won't directly raise PS5, Xbox Series X prices
- AMD unknown APU: is this the mid-range Xbox Series S chip?
- Xbox Series X SSD: DRAM-less PCIe 4.0 NVMe with up to 3.7GB/sec speeds
- First photo of an Xbox Series X prototype has leaked
- Next-gen console exclusives will be few and far between through 2021
- No, Xbox Series X won't run Steam or the Epic Store
- Ex-Xbox VP won't buy next-gen Xbox, will play exclusives on PC instead
- Xbox Series X HDMI pass-through currently not supported
- New Xbox Series X renders show ventilation and back ports
- Xbox Series X new die shot teases beautiful AMD custom 7nm APU
- Analyst: $500 Xbox Series X will take wind out of Microsoft's sails
- PlayStation 5 to outsell Xbox Series X in 2020, analyst predicts
- Xbox Lockhart going digital-only at launch would be a mistake
- Xbox Series X new die shot teases beautiful AMD custom 7nm APU
- Xbox Series X will destroy PlayStation 5 with its MUCH faster GPU
- Xbox Series X rumor: launching November 22 for $499
- Xbox Series X GPU is better than any Navi GPU released so far
- Xbox Series X may be more powerful, but will third-party devs use it?
- Xbox Series X will boost performance of previous gen Xbox games
- PS5, Xbox Series X SSD may use software-defined flash to boost speeds
- Microsoft to 'virtually eliminate' loading times on Xbox Series X
- How the Xbox Series X will look in your living room
- Clarifying the Xbox Series X name
- Xbox Series X's custom SoC built with backward compatibility in mind
- Next-gen Forza is playable on Xbox Series X, is 'vastly different'
- Xbox Series X size comparison vs Xbox One, PS4 Pro, Switch
- Next-gen Xbox controller has a share button
- Xbox Series X naming scheme leaves door open for Lockhart
- Xbox Series X may allow suspend and resume for multiple games at once
- Microsoft reveals next-gen Xbox console, the Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series X may allow suspend and resume for multiple games at once
- Next-gen Xbox Lockhart has 'significantly less RAM' for 1440p gaming
- Next-gen Xbox Scarlett specs: 12TFLOPs, 16GB RAM, 3.5GHz Zen 2 CPU
- Cheaper next-gen Xbox Lockhart targets 1440p 60FPS
- Cheaper next-gen Xbox Lockhart targets 1440p 60FPS
- Project Scarlett devkits aren't widely available yet
- PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds
- NVIDIA G-Sync monitors to improve PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett
- Project Scarlett won't get VR gaming, Microsoft doesn't care about VR
- Next-gen Xbox Scarlett plays four generations of Xbox games
- Microsoft teases next-gen Xbox: 8K, 120FPS, super-fast SSD
- Xbox Scarlett CPU: 'no compromises', allows for 4K 120FPS gaming
- Microsoft: Xbox Scarlett will kick PlayStation 5's ass in perf/price
- Next-gen Xbox may hit 4K 60FPS in every game
- Project Scarlett to hit 1080p 120FPS gaming
- Project Scarlett trade-in program announced, but there's a big catch
- New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
- Next-gen Xbox may get room-scale VR gaming
- PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
- Gears 5 developer says Xbox Scarlett has dedicated ray tracing cores
- GTA 6 on PS5, Project Scarlett to have insane hyper-realistic visuals
- AMD 'Flute': Xbox Scarlett SoC: Zen 2 8C/16T @ 3.2GHz on 7nm
- Project Scarlett's price isn't locked in yet
- Project Scarlett isn't the last Xbox console