Final Fantasy 16 runs at 720p on Xbox Series X in performance mode
The long-awaited Xbox Series X version has been criticised for its performance
Final Fantasy 16’s long-awaited Xbox release has several performance issues, according to game tech experts Digital Foundry.
Final Fantasy 16, which was released as a PlayStation 5 exclusive in 2023, is out now on Xbox Series X/S. However, according to Digital Foundry, the port is far from perfect.
A brief analysis of the game, based on early cutscenes from Final Fantasy 16, suggests that the Xbox Series X version is experiencing performance issues.
“The graphics mode has some weird problems relative to PS5. Firstly, the Series X is softer and lower resolution,” the publication said.
In the video below, Digital Foundry demonstrates that one shot from the early game is rendered at 1440p on the PlayStation 5 version of the game and at 1224p on the Xbox Series X version. “The Xbox version is consistently lower resolution,” Digital Foundry continues.
“There is a dramatic divergence in foliage rendering, where the Xbox just kind of looks broken in some trees and some bushes, so that’s very odd.”
Next, Digital Foundry highlighted that in performance mode, which boosts the game’s frame rate, Final Fantasy 16 runs at 1080p on PS5, whereas on Xbox Series X, it runs at 720p. The Xbox version also has a lower level of detail when compared to the PS5 version.
However, the performance mode on PS5 is still inconsistent, as it was at launch, going between 45 and 60 FPS, whereas the Xbox version, at its lower resolution, is locked at 60 FPS during gameplay. Cutscenes on all versions of the game run at 30 FPS.
VGC’s Final Fantasy 16 review called it “an incredible action game that doesn’t quite deliver the RPG heritage”.
During Summer Game Fest, Square Enix announced that five years after it was initially released on PlayStation 5, Final Fantasy Remake Intergrade is coming to Xbox platforms. This follows the news from April that the game will be coming to Nintendo Switch 2.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake coming to both Xbox and Nintendo platforms points to Square Enix’s transition away from exclusives, something that it has previously suggested had impacted sales.
After revealing in September that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 sales “did not meet expectations”, Square Enix announced plans to “shift to a multiplatform strategy”.
