Xbox Series X/S’s FPS Boost launches today, increasing FPS for some legacy games

Microsoft has announced Xbox Series X and S’s new FPS Boost feature, which will see supported legacy games run at up to four times their original frame rate.

The first titles to support the feature from today are Far Cry 4, New Super Lucky’s Tale, Sniper Elite 4, UFC 4, and Watch Dogs 2.

FPS Boost is a system-level feature that increases performance without requiring changes to the original game code, according to Microsoft.

“We chose this initial collection of titles not only because they are popular among fans, but to highlight several different ways that FPS Boost can improve your experience,” Xbox’s senior program manager Paul Eng explained.

“For example, New Super Lucky’s Tale can now run up to 120 frames per second (fps) and UFC 4 delivers improved framerate performance specifically on Xbox Series S and can now run at 60fps.”

As noted in Digital Foundry’s analysis of the updated titles, while FPS Boost increases frame rates it does not increase the resolution of the legacy games, some of which still run at sub-1080p.

“Regardless, unlocked performance upgrades for legacy games is a very good thing – especially as developer updates for older titles are likely to be thin on the ground,” it said.

Microsoft says it will announce and release more titles supporting FPS Boost soon, and that it will roll out new menu icons and system settings in an upcoming system update.

Starting this spring, users will be able to go into the “Manage Game” section for any title, where they’ll be presented with a new “Compatibility Options” button that will allow them to toggle FPS Boost (as well as Auto HDR) on or off.

There will also be a new indicator informing players when a game is running with FPS Boost whenever they hit the Xbox button on their controller.