Xbox Series X is loading legacy games faster than PS5, early tests suggest

Xbox Series X currently has faster load times than PlayStation 5 for several third-party games, early tests have suggested.

GameSpot has compared the performance of the next-gen consoles’ internal SSDs using popular backwards-compatible games with notably long load times on Xbox One and PS4.

While the titles in question may receive performance-boosting next-gen patches, the tests were conducted using the latest non-enhanced patches available.

The games in question were Batman: Arkham Knight, Destiny 2, Final Fantasy XV, Monster Hunter World, and Red Dead Redemption 2.

GameSpot compared how long each of the five games took to load from launch to menu, and then from menu to save.

Of the 10 comparisons, Xbox Series X loads were quicker on all but one occasion, when PS5 loaded Red Dead Redemption 2 from menu to save more quickly.

Further reading

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For Batman: Arkham Knight, Xbox Series X was approximately a second quicker (00:40:35) from launch to menu, and a little under six seconds faster (00:11:68) from menu to save.

For Destiny 2, Xbox Series X was almost 16 seconds quicker (00:34:26) from menu to character screen, and over nine seconds (00:37:27) faster from Orbit to the Tower.

For Final Fantasy XV, Xbox Series X was about six seconds quicker (00:33:12) from launch to menu, and almost 15 seconds (00:10:11) faster from menu to save.

For Monster Hunter World, Xbox Series X was over eight seconds quicker (00:23:17) from launch to menu, and almost seven seconds (00:06:21) faster from menu to save.

For Red Dead Redemption 2, Xbox Series X was almost four seconds quicker (00:26:24) from launch to menu, and but almost two seconds (00:36:26) slower from menu to save.

Speed of access is also one of the flagship features of PS5, with the console’s high-bandwidth SSD able to achieve access raw speeds of 5.5GB/s – double that of Xbox Series X, on paper.

Although Gamespot’s analysis suggests Xbox Series X comes out on top for backwards compatible load times, another outlet has praised PS5’s performance when running legacy games.

In a new analysis, Digital Foundry state that they were “blown away” by the performance benefits the PS4 games they tested enjoyed on PlayStation 5.

The publication’s praise is specifically aimed at games designed for PS4 which haven’t been given special PS5 optimisation patches, like Ghost of Tsushima and Days Gone.

It reports that games such as Knack, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy XV, Crysis: Remastered, Hitman and Dark Souls 3 all run at a solid 60fps on PS5.

It said: “Every game that we’ve tested, bar perhaps one, runs with the full power of the PlayStation 5; the full CPU clocks, the full GPU power and just like Xbox Series X, the effects can be absolutely phenomenal and transformative, to the point where we’re just blown away.”