Starfield Xbox Series S performance leaves fans confused

As we get closer to the release of Starfield, there’s one big remaining question we all still have, of which the answer will determine whether we’ve got a real game of the year competitor on our hands, or a sad, forgettable disappointment. How well will it actually run?

Already, some gamers have been concerned about the fact that, on consoles, Starfield is going to be locked at 30fps. Although some recently tried launching a petition to get this upped to 60fps, game director Todd Howard previously spoke out and revealed that Bethesda “never looked at taking features away” in order to boost the frame rate, since their focus “is on delivering all of that”, and ultimately, they were aiming for consistency.

Take a look at the story trailer for Starfield below.

With over 1000 planets to explore, there’s no doubt that Starfield is an ambitious game, and clearly requires some power to run, so it’s no wonder that gamers have been wondering how the game will fare on the Xbox Series S. Compared to its expensive counterpart, the Series X, the Series S' GPU is less powerful, and it boasts a max resolution of 1440p as opposed to the Series X’s 8K resolution (4K rendering for games).

As highlighted on the r/Starfield subreddit, Bethesda studio design director Emil Pagliarulo recently tweeted about the fact that he was playtesting Starfield, and was publicly asked how the performance and visuals are on the Series S. He responded: “For this question, best to listen to the man himself,” and linked to an article which quotes Howard saying that the game looks “great” on the cheaper console.

For this question, best to listen to the man himself: https://t.co/JqmCfKtpjl

— Emil Pagliarulo (@Dezinuh) July 13, 2023

Although that sounds positive, some are concerned that Pagliarulo hasn't stated his own opinion on the matter: “Emil talks very lightly about Starfield on Series S,” Neosss1995 wrote. “Just wait to see if they do Series S previews. Cyberpunk didn’t and that was a red flag. If they refuse to show Series S performance then you can be concerned,” added adonisrambo.

While the worry is understandable, it’s worth keeping in mind that Pagliarulo is probably following strict rules not to give too much about Starfield away, which would explain why he linked to a public quote, instead of giving his own opinion. Hopefully we'll get a bit more clarity on the game’s performance on the Series S prior to Starfield's launch, though.