Why is it so hard to develop for an Xbox series S when the specs of the machine are higher than the average minimum PC requirements?

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I’ve been seeing a lot of people lament the Xbox series S being too underpowered and holding the generation back, but I’ve noticed specifically with Baldurs Gate 3 the minimum PC specs are below that of the series S.

What’s actually holding it back? It seems like something that’s getting a lot of traction lately but there’s no comparable data out there to support theories.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Speaking about the Xbox Series S in general and not specific to BG3. Most of the articles are talking about the Series S in relation to the Series X not in relation to PCs or overall specs.

If you take a look at the specs of the Series S vs the Series X, the S is (a little) underpowered compared to the X. Combine this with MS requiring games to be released/compatible/runs well on both S and X, it adds an additional layer of difficulty for the developers. Devs won’t be able to push the capabilities of the X because pushing the X means pushing out the S.

Not saying it’s impossible to optimize for the S, just that most games have tight deadlines and optimization is not really a one button thing so it’s usually left out for later (or never). But the easiest way to be in compliant to release the game is to not push the X so it runs well on the S (hence, holding the generation back).

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