Starfield Performance Upgrade - 40FPS, 60FPS, VRR And More - The Complete Breakdown

Digital Foundry had early access to the display mode update for Starfield, and we've put together this detailed report on the various performance options and visual settings choices available. While Bethesda recommends a 120Hz display with VRR (as do we actually!), there's a wealth of viable options for those with standard 60Hz screens with no variable refresh rate support... and major cities apart, the game does a good job of hitting 60 frames per second.

00:00 Overview
00:48 Visual Differences
05:57 Performance Testing
11:43 Analysis and Conclusion

[yaosio]

I like the uncapped option because it means Starfield will get a performance boost when the next consoles come out without a patch.

[leonthesleepy]

I hate that these days, the only way to get a stable experience is to wait months, even years after a game's launch in order to get decent performance and stability.

[sanctanox]

As always: Give consumers the choice and everybody is happy.

[rocstarang]

Game companies have conditioned us to wait, and they wonder why sales are down...

[nightowl]

As someone who played this a bit on PC(thanks to PC GamePass), I have to say it plays so much nicer at 60 or higher. Everything just feels so much better. This is a welcome update.

[doxthafox]

This update is so welcomed. Much needed QoL updates and def fuels my fire for the Shattered Space DLC.

[bobbobbins]

It's nice to see some games are now giving players more freedom over visual settings. I've often wondered why consoles have been so restrictive in this regard. There's no harm in defaulting to optimised reccomended settings, but also giving the player freedom to tinker.

[chrisvillan]

I might give 40fps a try. Usually a good balance between visuals and responsiveness

[milsvaard]

This is a good patch, I never expected to get a locked 60fps on the console, but the added higher framerate features and reasonable visual cutbacks are welcomed. Can't wait to jump back in.

[CDunn]

Hopefully by the time the DLC drops, things will perform even better.

[theoryofeverywhere]

It seems like a 40 fps mode should be available for Series S at some point. 40 fps feels so much better than 30 fps and very nearly as good as 60 fps for me.

[wh]

Just checked it out and it really makes a difference. Definitely gonna continue my adventure now.

[SupertoastGT]

60fps in most places and durpy durp in major cities. Exactly what I thought we could get on this hardware. I'm happy with this. Performance wise, we have the game that we should have had at launch. :D

[iconofsin]

I really liked Starfield and played it almost 200 hours. Im really happy about this update and other enchancements

[pillarcloud]

60fps on visuals with no hud look like a brand new game and looks amazing

[GeremyG]

I didn’t play the game at launch due to the framerate. Might give it a shot now.

[ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Lots of people don't remember that XSX is actually CPU limited. No amount of upscaling can fix that. Upscaling only helps the GPU, which is why visual mode can still reach 60 fps, but performance mode locked at 30 fps puts too much load on the CPU. Performance mode at 30 fps won't stress the XSX GPU at all. Starfield is in fact CPU limited, not GPU limited.

[विचित्रलड़का]

Always buy a free sync premium monitor / tv if you want the complete experience on consoles.

[cratoic]

3:10 For crowd density, I'm 60% sure, you have to load into a new scene for it to take effect e.g., going through a loading screen, to see the difference in crowd density. Quitting and reloading a save once you change it doesn't change the density I'm fairly sure.

[cloverraven]

Changing the inventory weight in the options makes the game playable again