Starfield: Responding to the 30fps vs 60fps Debate

The latest thing making the Xbox news cycle today is all about the Starfield 30fps vs 60fps debate. Many players feel like Starfield choosing to run at 30fps on Xbox Series X is a big issue. Starfield gameplay has shooting mechanics and many enjoy that at 60fps, and some feel it's required. Today I watch a video from OhNoItsAlexx and debate his thoughts about the matter. Todd Howard confirmed that for him Starfield 30fps Xbox Series X gameplay is the best experience for players. For me, the Starfield 30fps vs 60fps conversation isn't going to stop here. It's just the beginning as designers have to take a hard look at 30fps in gaming and decide if they want to try and push it to 60fps on Xbox Series X by sacrificing visual fidelity, or if an Xbox 30 fps option is reasonable.

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[roguedeathangel]

I understand that devs want their game to look as good as possible but 30fps really ruins the experience for me. I think giving players the option of either 4k 30fps and 1440/1080 60fps is important and I really hope developers prioritise giving players the choice.

[beardedshawn]

I'm a lifelong console gamer in my 40's. The only time that going back to 30 fps is the least bit jarring to me is when I've already played the exact same game at 60.

[LatinLegacyNY]

Digital Foundry did an excellent breakdown as to the reasons why they couldn't get the game to be at 60 FPS in its current state. With that said, with further optimizations & patches down the road, they could get a performance mode up & running. Even if the resolution takes a considerable hit. It's something I can see them pushing out down the road.

[dlbarnes]

I'm an older gamer, so I have all the consoles. I care about gameplay and content. Am I entertained? But this debate is changing the gaming landscape; some gamers believe performance is the only fact to consider when judging if a game is good or not. I'm neither a Sony, Nintendo, or MS loyalist, just a person who enjoys good games, so I hope #starfield is successful. Competition is a good thing

[mrmiyagi]

As a developer, design choices will vary for each game. Resources are not infinite, and sacrifices will have to be made at some point - It all depends on the type of game you are developing. I've been in the development industry for over 20 years and Starfield is probably the most ambitious game I've ever seen...

[Blasko]

Destin going after Alex!!! This gonna be good 🍿

[Kwizats]

Digital Foundry has a great video on why 30 fps is okay for THIS game with good explanations why.

[Christiano]

Destin I have no issues with great games being 30fps. The problem I have is that these consoles were advertised as 4k 60fps - 120fps consoles with 60fps being the standard.

[DooD]

My only thing with Starfield is why we werent given the option to play at highest visuals an 30fps or lower visuals and 60fps. Let the player decide.

[KaitDiaz]

God of War developers AKA Santa Monica studios is defending starfield for being at 30fps

[MonsterXero]

I will certainly play Starfield at 30 if that's all there is, but 60 definitely looks better to me. 30 creates a smearing or pixel drag in the backgrounds that creates a very mild motion sickness response for me. You get used to it to a degree over time but it is never as visually comfortable as 60. So input latency is not the only reason. Images in 60 look sharper and more clear, but your eyes can detect the difference between the two. 60fps really should be a core design concept, not so much an optional one. Edit: Maybe eye fatigue would be more accurate than motion sickness. Like reading a small print book in a moving car that does not take bumps like a Rolls.

[daprodukt]

I watch you both so have no bias here... that thigh slap at the beginning is BRILLIANT 😂😂 I watched Alex's video and then shortly after watched digital foundry' video where they actually explain that it isn't just a case of dropping the resolution for 60 FPS and found it very insightful. To be honest I do want 60FPS but I don't think every game needs it, Redfall is a shooter so it needed it, starfield not so much.

[LoneKnight]

For me frame rate be it 60 or 30 really doesn't matter in any game. What matters is how well does it hold its frame rate. That's where the disconnect happens for me is when it starts stuttering. If it runs smooth you will naturally adjust to whatever it's at and enjoy the game.

[jacksonthomas]

I personally have never cared about the whole 30 v 60 fps thing for Starfield. It has to many good things IMO that I am excited about. So After the whole direct with the ship customization, exploration, space combat and so on I am looking forward more to those things than the fps.

[W_Strone_Swiatla]

As much as I use to agree with you Destin in most of the things, this time you are simply not right. 60FPS it should be a new standard for console gamers full stop. Please compare specification of PS4 vs PS5 and they are world apart. And still game developers could squeeze from PS4 tablet CPU masterpieces like TLOU 2, God of War, Death Stranding, GOT or Gears 5. More than this, there were shooting games running up 60 FPS! So no Destin, console gamers deserve better. PS. By saying 'accept 30 FPS' you excusing poor optimization of currently rereleased games where often times they look more like BETA phase games. Plus there is overreliance of game developers on reconstruction techniques, call it laziness if want it or sick business model of game development.

[FrankieStiener]

I swear the older I get the less I care about fps 🤷‍♂️

[connormccormack]

Love the channel and conversation Destin. I do agree that at a minimum we must have a 60fps option. I game on a 4k 27" 144hz display. 4k and 1440p looks almost identical on that screen size. 60fps has a noticeable difference where as resolution does not. I bought the console and expensive monitor thinking this would be the Era of 120fps gaming. Now we aren't even talking about 60fps anymore. The reality is that xbox marketing convinced me 60fps and 120fps was the future. Now the first real next gen xbox exclusive is 30fps...

[Silver_Wolf-]

It's the fact that they don't even give the option of having 60. Even if they dropped the res to 1440p or 1080p, a 60 fps mode is expected in all modern games.

[matthewjalovick]

I thought the 30fps would bother me about a year ago but when I think about my list of personal favorites… they’re almost all games I played at 30fps. Once I saw the gameplay and systems I realized I don’t mind it. At all. It looked snappy and fun. Do I wish it was 60fps? Sure. But I won’t notice it after a bit most likely :)

[MonsterXero]

VRR compensates for an unstable refresh rate, which would allow you to uncap the frame rate. Even digital foundry suggested un-capping the frame rate for those people with vrr monitors.