Last week, we learnt that Stalker 2 has a 60FPS performance mode on Xbox Series X - but today, the game's Xbox Series S specs are causing some controversy online. According to outlet wccftech, developer GSC Game World only has the Series S version running at "25ish FPS" right now, with more optimisation to be done between now and launch.
Truth be told, it's the '25FPS' figure that's hitting the headlines, even though there's lots more context to the news than that. First off, as we say, there's plenty of optimisation to be done by launch in November - but also, the interview that this news comes from has plenty of praise for Microsoft, with the Xbox team continuing to support development.
The Ukrainian studio, which has been through lots of hardship since it embarked on Stalker 2 development, says Microsoft has "visited several times, providing essential expertise on what else we could do that we didn't think of". The team assures fans that it is "still working on optimization for Xbox Series S" and "the Xbox team is contributing a lot" to that effort.
"Well, our team is mature enough to take care of many aspects of the game themselves. Yet, the Xbox team knows best how the Xbox performs and what's better to do in a case like we need to go deeper into the optimization. The Microsoft team visited several times, providing essential expertise on what else we could do that we didn't think of. It's not over yet. Aside from Xbox Series X, we're still working on optimization for Xbox Series S. It's going well, and the Xbox team is contributing a lot.
So far, we have it at 25ish FPS on the Xbox Series S, but we still have space to optimize."
Anyway, we just wanted to bring that bit more nuance to this whole situation, because yes, a 25FPS performance figure is of course going to spread like wildfire. Let's give GSC Game World the time it needs, and frankly deserves, to get Stalker 2 in ship shape for its Xbox Game Pass release on November 20th.