Gearbox boss thinks the leap to PS5 and Xbox Series X is ‘the biggest in console history’

Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford believes the leap to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will be the biggest in the history of the console market.

While he doesn’t expect this to be evident in next-gen launch titles, he forecasts the leap will prove to be even greater than the jump from 2D to 3D was.

“I think customers will realize how profound of a difference it is to have the throughput capability that these new platforms bring. It’s just absolutely unreal,” Pitchford told GameSpot.

“The leap there with PS5 and Xbox Series X is the biggest leap I have ever seen in the history of console generations. I’m saying, including the leap from 2D to 3D. It’s going to change the way we think about every bit of our experiences.

“However,” he continued, “it’s going to be hard to see that in the initial launch titles because a lot of the launch titles are games that were endeavored upon before. Frankly, there are a lot of ports, and games that have already [available] on existing platforms that are being reimagined with these new platforms.”

One such game is Borderlands 3, which was recently confirmed for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It will offer a free upgrade path for existing PS4 and Xbox One owners.

The PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the loot shooter will support 4K and 60FPS, while all next-gen versions will include a new three and four player split-screen mode.

Xbox Series X/S are scheduled to launch on November 10, while PS5 will debut on November 12 in selected markets.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said he believes the upcoming console generation will change the feel of games “as dramatically as any since 2D to 3D given CPU upgrade, DLI, memory bandwidth and SSD”.

Further reading

Xbox boss says Series X upgrade will feel ‘as dramatic as 2D to 3D’

Phil Spencer talks up Dynamic Latency feature