The Xbox One S officially launched yesterday. It is the successor to the Xbox One. The Xbox One S features many improved things as compared to its predecessor, the Xbox One. It features a 40% smaller design along with a built-in power supply unit. The Xbox One S also has a Blu-Ray drive and sleeker design. Performance-wise, the Xbox One S is also a “little bit” more powerful than the original Xbox One. One of the key features of the Xbox One S is 4K movie support and HDR. Well, the Xbox One S isn’t actually intended for 4K gaming. The console for 4K gaming is the “Project Scorpio“, coming next year. But still, the Xbox One S is capable of running some games at native 4K resolution.
The Xbox One S Can Run Games in 4K Afterall
Senior Director at Microsoft, Albert Penello, confirmed that the Xbox One S is indeed capable of handling games at 4K. But obviously, there’s a catch. The Xbox One S is simply not powerful enough to handle heavy AAA titles at 4K, but it can run some less demanding titles at 4K resolution.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Penello was asked if the Xbox One S can address a 4K framebuffer. He replied:
“Obviously we can’t expect native 4K triple-A gaming, but simpler titles and 2D games could potentially work well – plus existing Xbox One owners would get 2x super-sampling.”
According to Penello’s statements, the Xbox One S has unlocked 4K framebuffer. It can handle some titles at 4K resolution. However, Penello also further explained that this is entirely up to the developers. If they want to make a game that can be handled by the console at 4K, they surely can. So it is up to the developers how they want to utilize the power of the Xbox One S.
“If a developer had a game that could use it we are enabling 4K framebuffers, but only on Xbox One S consoles”
– Albert Penello.
So yeah, the Xbox One S may get some “lightweight” indie games that run on 4K resolution. However, the developers can also go for 1080p/1440p @ 60FPS. Everything is up to the developers. For some light 4K gaming (if it gets 4K titles at all) and 4K movies, the Xbox One S is an excellent choice. And if you want full 4K gaming experience, we suggest that you build a high-end gaming PC or wait for the upcoming Xbox Project Scorpio.
