Microsoft Working on Why PS5 Outperforms Xbox Series X on Certain Games

While Microsoft has been touting that the Xbox Series X is the "world's most powerful console," the PS5 is outperforming it in early game tests, and Microsoft is working on why. As reported by The Verge, Digital Foundry has been analyzing some of the new games across both the PS5 - which is capable of 10.28 teraflops of GPU performance - and Xbox Series X - which is capable of 12 teraflops - and it's not as one-sided as it initially appeared. In Devil May Cry 5, the Xbox Series X has better performance in 4K and ray tracing modes, but the higher frame rate option runs better on PS5, with the frame rate gaps being more than 40fps in some cases. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/xbox-series-x-review"] “The dips look really strange to me, and it kind of suggests to me some kind of API limitation on the Xbox side where the GPU is being held back by something,” suggests Digital Foundry editor Richard Leadbetter. Assassin's Creed Valhalla, which has been heavily promoted by Microsoft, also runs a bit smoother on PS5, with the Xbox Series X version showing screen tearing and regular frame rate dips below 60fps. The same story plays out in Dirt 5, where image quality and resolution go in PS5's favor. Dirt's developer Codemasters has acknowledged this peformance gap, and has already said it has a fix in the works. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-games-to-play-on-xbox-series-xs&captions=true"] Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War does run better in ray tracing performance mode on Xbox Series X, but PS5 performs better in 120fps mode. Why is this occurring in multiple games? Certain developers have spoken to The Verge and have said that some of the issues stem from the fact that Microsoft only allowed developers to submit games for Xbox Series X certification in June, whereas developers had access to PS5 dev kits far in advance. So, it appears that this issue is not necessarily a platform issue, but an issue with developers not having ample time to optimize their titles for the Xbox Series X. Microsoft has acknowledged this issue, and promises it is working with developers to solve any complications. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/17/fixing-ps5-xbox-series-x-launch-issues-next-gen-console-watch"] “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,” says a Microsoft spokesperson in a statement to The Verge. “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.” The Xbox Series X does have certain advantages over the PS5, on paper, like variable refresh rate and full AMD RDNA2 support, but many developers still need time to take advantage of all the power the Xbox Series X offers. For more on Xbox Series X, check out our Xbox Series X review and accessibility review, the best games to play on Xbox Series X/S right now, and the best things to do first with your Series X. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/14/xbox-series-x-4-things-we-love-and-3-things-we-dont"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.