Xbox boss Phil Spencer has revealed several Xbox Series X graphics specs in a surprise blog post released today.
According to Spencer, Microsoft's next-gen console will deliver 12 teraflops of graphics processing power, or "twice that of an Xbox One X and more than eight times the original Xbox One." This lines up with rumors from December 2019 which suggested the Xbox Series X specs would more than double Xbox One X in many areas.
Teraflops, if you've forgotten, are used to measure the power of a GPU. Teraflops are calculated using a processor's clock speed and core count, and while more teraflops doesn't always lead to better real-world performance, with two to eight times that of the Xbox One, it's safe to say the Xbox Series X will be a substantial step up.
Graphics aside, Spencer says the console's main processor - that is, the CPU - is also roughly four times stronger than the chip powering the standard Xbox One. "Xbox Series X delivers a true generational leap in processing and graphics power with cutting edge techniques resulting in higher framerates, larger, more sophisticated game worlds, and an immersive experience unlike anything seen in console gaming," he adds.
Much of Spencer's blog reiterates features and figures we've heard before: NVMe SSD storage, full Xbox backwards compatibility, 120 FPS support, and so on. However, a few new and previously unexplored features were also highlighted, like Microsoft's proprietary variable rate shading. Spencer says this enables developers to better prioritize specific elements like characters or objects, resulting in "more stable frame rates and higher resolution, with no impact on the final image quality."
Spencer also gave us our most detailed description yet of the system's multi-game instant resume support. Powered by the console's upgraded SSD, this allows players "to continue multiple games from a suspended state almost instantly, returning to where you were and what you were doing, without waiting through long loading screens." Great news for people who have torn their hair out hopping between games this gen.
Spencer previously said that he hopes to see Xbox Series X games prioritize frame rate over resolution.
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