Update: Well, we've got an official answer about this! Pentiment Director Josh Sawyer has confirmed the omission of 120FPS on Xbox is "just a bug", and the feature will added to the Xbox version in the next patch.
Original story: Obsidian Entertainment's Pentiment is the first of Xbox's four in-house titles to move over to other platforms, and its recent release has brought about a baffling discrepancy between the Xbox Series X and PS5 releases.
As you can see in the video up above (and via other sources) Pentiment appears to be running at a muchhigher frame rate on PS5 than it does on Xbox Series X. The PS5 version seemingly pushes 120Hz playback when used with a compatible display - the Xbox version only runs at 60Hz in this same case.
We're not sure what's causing it as there doesn't seem to be a manual 120FPS toggle anywhere, and we'd imagine Obsidian will spot and fix this. We must admit though, we'd like the fix to include a 120Hz option on both systems rather than just limiting the PS5 version to 60FPS!
We haven't had access to the game on PlayStation 5 here at PX so we can't confirm the difference ourselves, but this certainly seems to be happening - it's a curious one! We'll keep our eye on things in the coming days and hope for some sort of explanation from Obsidian.
So, uh, what do you think of this? Tell us if you've managed to try out the PS5 version yourself!
Comments 44
Oh boy. This should get interesting.
Very on brand!
As if Obsidian hasn’t angered certain Xbox fans as it is with the recent physical copy advertisement fiasco 😂
Seriously though the difference between 60fps vs 120fps is negligible, I have a tv that can do 144Hz but I’ll always choose 60fps rather than sacrifice graphics/resolution.
Might be the game that needs 120FPS mode the least... can't wait for another pointless war to wage.
Thanks to GamePass Xbox is the cheapest console to play first party games, but apparently not the best one lol
Microsoft, where you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
It'll get a patch on Series X that allows 120fps.
@Scirius it's insane how true this has been on and off from the beginning. It's like Microsoft gets off on shooting themselves in the foot.
Unbelievable. Did they learn nothing from the fiasco when then launched Ghostwire Tokyo on Xbox?
I have no objection to this game appearing on PlayStation but it is another schoolboy error if it runs better on that platform.
Are we really at a point when people care for 120 FPS on freakin' Pentiment?
@Lup People care that the Xbox version of a first party title runs best on PlayStation, that's a horrible look no matter what the title is but is unfortunately on brand with the current Xbox vision.
People grasping at straws to complain about everything these days. Does the difference really matter in a game like this? Does this take away the enjoyment to people? I'm genuinely asking.
The only thing this is doing is reminding me i still havent played Pentiment on GP (in the backlog) 😋
At this point I believe Xbox are deliberately trolling the malcontents, perhaps to identify and ignore them en masse.
@Divide_and_Wander leggo "starfield is perfectly fine on 30fps you frame snobs" bro these stuff SHOULD be complained at, hard, when the competition offers 30,40,60,120 and uncapped fps with vrr on first party titles.
there goes the xbox clown music again.
last i checked outer worlds does not run 60 fps on series s but it does on series x. can't help but think obsiaian and the rest of team xbox doesn't like xbox much tbh.
omg! im gonna die laughing if starfield launches on ps5 at 60 fps. i will be laughing and crying at the same time.
@Scirius - I'm talking about Pentiment specifically though. Does 60 versus 120 fps have a major impact on the enjoyment of a game like Pentiment? I'm thinking not.
Like I said before if the PS5 release is later and worked on later it will benefit for the developers knowledge of that say 6 month period since series s/x release.
Unless then the series x version is patched it will be the inferior version.
Removed - unconstructive feedback
I'm reserving judgment until I've seen confirmation from Digital Foundry or someone that it's definitely happening - and it's not an accident.
It doesn't really make too much difference on Pentiment, but on HiFi Rush or other games they might port over it'll be more noticeable - and they're also supporting DualSense features I imagine too.
Unless they patch those performance increases into the Xbox version too (and give us a new controller with DualSense features, as is rumoured) then we get the inferior product - and even if they patch the improvements in we've still initially played the worse one and been beta testers for PS5 players...
It's going to get worse if they release a PS5 Pro and Xbox don't release a souped-up Series X against it - as by waiting for the PS5 version of some games you may get Pro-enhanced performance, DualSense features and all fixes / optimisations...
The file size issue is actually something I'm not so fussed about - I've no doubt Kraken is better but Xbox are forced to use the MS/Windows standard ones which often perform poorly due to their wide-usage and generic nature, and thankfully I've got the 1TB extra drive
@rustyduck
Please no, that would be the biggest insult to the Xbox series x fan base I could ever imagine.
@Divide_and_Wander probably not, but could you imagine if Sony put a tweet out saying ‘ps5 best way to play Xbox games’ it wouldn’t look great.
Not that I think they will or should. And of course Xbox can retaliate with ‘mlb on GPU’. Plus series X will prob get an update with 120.
With the way MS has handled the whole going to other system stuff, it’s just a bit more bad looking PR
@OldGamer999 This is bait.
@Widey85 Hi-Fi Rush already has DualSense features on the PC, so not supporting them would be pretty petty. You would actively have to undo work already done.
@TwoDents Imagine if they also put, "If you have a PS Plus subscription tier Tough Luck, we love money and are still gonna charge you for it, even if you do get it Free on Xbox for the same price subscription".
JokerBoy422 wrote:
Head. They're shooting themselves in the head. They were outsold 2:1 last gen, it's going to be 2.5:1 this gen, and they're going to be lucky if they're within 4:1 of the PS6. They don't care, "the PS6 is an Xbox" lmao. 🏳🏳
FPS on a side scroller narrative game? Didn't have a problem with the frames when I beat the game 15 months ago.
@themightyant Yes hence why I'm hoping they do bring that new controller out with the same features.
I've managed to avoid playing my partner's PS5 as I didn't want to find I really liked the DualSense features and feel I'd chosen wrong in which console to buy as this was back during the pandemic when it was impossible to get either so I couldn't have got one alongside my XSX.
Now, I'm realising that like last gen I'll probably have to get a PlayStation anyway so I can play alongside my partner and local friends, as it's my only my old uni group where we've carried on burning the Xbox flame since those glory Halo 3 nights.
It's made me a lot more "meh" about all this as I'll likely get the Pro (as might as well get the best PS5 I can this year if I'm jumping on board) and catch up on the exclusives I've missed - but I do want Xbox to do well as I much prefer the stick layout, the ecosystem and the value offering (I'll always be subbed to Ultimate and enjoying the GP games).
And I'm pretty determined to always play games the best way I can play them (outside of the expense and effort of a PC, as mine's due a GPU upgrade which will then soon need a CPU/motherboard/RAM upgrade etc.) so if they don't do a souped-up Series X I might end up playing third-party games on the Pro while I would rather do it on the Series X...
I haven’t even owned an Xbox for 2 years and I already don’t see a point in getting the next one. New fans are going to abandon ship so fast it’ll make Sonic look slow.
@MaccaMUFC I wholly disagree. My monitor is 144.my phone is 120, and my TV is 120.
Even ignoring the massively improved smoothness of the picture, the increased response time is night and day difference.
@Divide_and_Wander 120/144hz is. A massive difference in enjoyment of something as simple as moving your mouse across a screen. Of course the clarity you get from a higher frame rate is going to help with the enjoyment of a game with as lovely art as Pentiment has.
@MaccaMUFC I have to disagree — the difference is readily apparent. Not the leap from 30 to 60 fps, no, but I've had games on PC drop to 60 (due to a config bug) from the normal 90-120 at the time, and immediately felt something was visual wrong.
Ahhh just like Xbox to screw over their own customers...
People that get it “free” on a subscription service vs people that paid for the actual game.
I’ve said for years I’d rather pay for Xbox exclusives and be able to demand better rather than the current situation.
Smaller file size is actually a feature of the PS5, I dont understand how someone can be surprised by that. Sometimes PS5 game sizes are smaller than PS4 for the same games, not much higher when not, even if 4K assets are way heavier.
OK so Josh Sawyer has tweeted the Xbox patch was meant to unlock it on Series too but there was a bug.
Shoddy QA but should help to put it to rest - I do very much understand the "Xbox constantly shoot themselves in the foot" though as they knew this would be a closely scrutinised release
Article has been updated with a message from Pentiment Director Josh Sawyer, who confirms the omission of 120FPS is "just a bug".
"120fps will be enabled for XBOX in the next patch. It being disabled is just a bug."
If you believe this was "just a bug" then I have a pyramid scheme I'd like you to invest in.
Xbox is run by money men. Clueless money men.
Wait, how is 120fps being disabled on Series X a bug? Is it an old bug that nobody's picked up on since release? Or is it a new bug? I smell bovine fecal matter 🤔
Phil Spencer last week:
"Xbox will be the best place to play xbox games"
That aged well.
Maybe 'just a bug' but it shows where the priorities are, and that's the PS5.
Any news on when the patch is due?
Should be NOW.
@Markatron84 old bug they never bothered to fixed on the Xbox version.
Look 120fps isn’t needed for a game like this but this should never have happened. It’s a very bad look.
@theduckofdeath @InterceptorAlpha I personally find 60fps to be smooth enough. Choosing 120fps at usually a lower resolution like 1080p as well as having less fidelity like less foliage, blurry textures, worse viewing distance etc just isn’t worth it imo. It’s only useful in games like CoD.
“It’s not a bug! It’s a feature!”
Scrolled all the way and didn’t find it, so I posted it!
@MaccaMUFC I play on Series X so that isn't a issue most of the time. If you're on Series S though, that checks out with how underpowered it is.
Then you have boosted games like playing Battlefield 4 that has loads of player still, while being a crisp 120fps. When the original release was lucky to find 60fps.
@Sifi - "Even if you do get it Free on Xbox for the same price subscription."
Then that'll be deceptive marketing that contradicts itself. It can't be free & paid at the same time, I wonder if I'll be able to sue them. 🤔
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