Phil Spencer shared new details on the Xbox Series X today, and it sounds like it’s shaping up to be a real beast of a console. The head of Xbox confirmed that the next-generation system houses an incredibly powerful processor that puts its predecessors – and possibly, its competition – to shame.
At the heart of the system is a “custom designed processor leveraging AMD’s latest Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures,” which, according to Spencer, allows the Xbox Series X to deliver “four times the processing power of an Xbox One” and frame rates of up to 120 FPS. The GPU boasts 12 TFLOPS of performance in total, “twice that of an Xbox One X and more than eight times the original Xbox One.”
Variable Rate Shading (VRS) and hardware-accelerated DirectX Raytracing technologies are also supported. Spencer explained that the Xbox Series X’s “patented” form of VRS, which is made possible by HDMI 2.1, brings “more stable frame rates and higher resolution, with no impact on the final image quality.” On the other hand, DirectX Raytracing (“a first for console gaming”) provides “true-to-life lighting, accurate reflections and realistic acoustics in real time as you explore the game world.”
Additional perks of the Xbox Series X include SSD storage, which lets games “load in a flash,” and Quick Resume for continuing “multiple games from a suspended state almost instantly.” Players should also expect reduced latency in the Xbox Wireless Controller thanks to Dynamic Latency Input (DLI), a feature that “synchronizes input immediately with what is displayed” for “even more precise and responsive” controls.
The Xbox Series X also flaunts four generations of backward compatibility, bringing “steadier framerates, faster load times, and improved resolution and visual fidelity” to classic titles. That level of previous-gen support stretches to Xbox One gaming accessories, all of which can be used on the Xbox Series X.
Last but not least, Xbox fans will always have the best copy of a game thanks to a brilliant feature called Smart Delivery. “This technology empowers you to buy a game once and know that – whether you are playing it on Xbox One or Xbox Series X – you are getting the right version of that game on whatever Xbox you’re playing on,” Spencer explained. “We’re making the commitment to use Smart Delivery on all our exclusive Xbox Game Studios titles, including Halo Infinite, ensuring you only have to purchase a title once in order to play the best available version for whichever Xbox console they choose to play on.”
Spencer says that he’ll be sharing more details about the Xbox Series X “in the coming months.”