All articles tagged with #xbox series s
Microsoft is hiking EU/UK Xbox prices by up to €200 or £170, with the 1TB Series X Disc rising to €799.99/£669.99 and the 512GB Series S jumping to €499.99/£429.99; the 1TB Series S and 1TB Series X Digital also increase, and a 2TB model is being retired amid a storage crunch, marking the third price increase since May 2025.
Digital Foundry says the Xbox Series S’s optimization constraints helped train developers for Nintendo Switch 2 ports, noting parallels in tradeoffs like those seen with Final Fantasy VII and acknowledging that DLSS-style upscaling can give Switch 2 an edge in image quality at times, even as Series S often delivers stronger performance. Overall, the Series S optimization regime is credited with pushing broader cross‑platform improvements and smoother Switch 2 porting, though the mapping isn’t perfect and outcomes vary by title.
Three industry veterans from Sony, Naughty Dog and Infinity Ward have formed That's No Moon and announced Crossfire, an upcoming action-adventure shooter for Xbox Series X|S. A debut trailer is out, and there’s an Xbox Store page to wishlist the title, but no release date has been set yet.
Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked is delayed for Xbox while the team prioritizes heavy optimization for Series S memory (8GB); a PS5 release is still planned for October, with Switch 2 and Series S specs requiring more work. The studio cites parity rules and memory limits as the main blockers, notes there’s no exclusivity deal, and aims to ship a solid port for console players after extensive optimization.
Moon Studios confirms No Rest for the Wicked is PS5-first this October, with Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2 versions arriving later after heavy Series S optimization; no Sony exclusivity deal is involved.
Microsoft released a limited Alpha/Alpha-Skip-Ahead update for Xbox Series X and Series S that adds four features: a dedicated outage indicator in the top-right that links to a status page, expanded color customization with hex codes and a “match my gamerpic” option, the Xbox Accessories App now shows the currently selected controller, and quick access to the latest release notes from the Home screen with more detailed notes to come. The rollout is currently limited to testing rings and, if no issues are found, should broaden to all users before year’s end.
Digital Foundry's analysis shows 007 First Light on Xbox Series X supports 60fps or 30fps, while Series S is fixed at 30fps to maintain parity, reflecting IO Interactive's scalability-first approach; achieving 60fps on high-end consoles relies on Glacier Engine techniques like async compute and a frame graph with CPU offloading, and the same scaling strategy will extend to lower-end PCs and Switch 2, including software-based ray tracing and new lighting tech.
An early Xbox comparison shows LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight on Series X delivering 4K visuals with two modes—Fidelity (30fps) and Performance (60fps) via dynamic resolution—while Series S runs at 1080p (native 720p) with a locked 30fps; the game is now available on the Xbox Store for £59.99 / $69.99, with Fuzion Xbox Testing videos illustrating the differences.
Forza Horizon 6 on Xbox Series X runs 4K/30fps in Quality and 4K with dynamic scaling at 60fps in Performance, while Series S targets 1440p/30fps in Quality and 1080p/60fps in Performance (both with dynamic scaling). Digital Foundry notes a stable 60fps in Performance mode, and early access begins May 15 for Premium Edition or the Premium Upgrade Bundle.
Forza Horizon 6 on Xbox Series X|S runs in Quality mode at native 4K/30fps on Series X and in Performance mode with dynamic 4K scaling to 60fps; Series S offers Quality at 1440p/30fps and Performance at 1080p/60fps with dynamic resolution to keep framerates. The game adds accessibility features like Proximity Radar, AutoDrive, and High Contrast, plus post-launch ASL/BSL sign-language support in cutscenes. Release is May 19 (May 15 for Premium).
Replaced has arrived on Xbox Game Pass with generally positive early reception, a new patch fixes crashes and memory leaks on Xbox Series S, and players are invited to share early impressions and give their scores as the community weighs in.
Early reviews for Replaced on Xbox Game Pass are largely positive, praising its art direction, story, and combat; Series X and PC versions are performing well, while Series S users are warned of a memory-related hang at launch. Current scores sit around Metacritic 80 and OpenCritic 78.
Replaced, a long-awaited 2.5D pixel-art platformer, launches on PC and Xbox but the Series S version suffers a memory-related hang during the Chapter 4–5 transition andending cinematics don’t work; players can workaround by quitting and restarting, with a patch expected to pass Microsoft’s cert process on April 15 to fix the issues, while PC and Series X versions are reportedly fine.
Digital Foundry finds Crimson Desert on Xbox Series X largely playable and closer to PS5 with three modes (Quality 1080p/30, Balanced 1280p/40, Performance 1080p/60) and a new 4K output via FSR 3 that sharpens visuals at the cost of ~45–55fps. Series S is a drastic downgrade—720p/40fps in performance mode with no ray tracing and noticeably high input latency—making it hard to recommend as a home console experience. CPU-heavy areas still cause dips and occasional tearing on Series X, and the article notes the potential for Switch 2 DLSS-like upscaling to outpace Series S, underscoring a clear console performance gap between the two Xbox systems.
Ghost Master: Resurrection, a remake of 2004's Ghost Master (originally on Xbox/PC), lands on Xbox Series X|S with a new engine, upgraded graphics, and 11 reimagined locations; the Core Edition costs £19.99 / $24.99 and includes two DLCs. While the original PC version scored well (Metacritic 81) and Steam shows a Very Positive verdict, some Xbox reviews note crashes and a somewhat janky UI.