Being an Xbox exclusive used to mean something. These days, exclusivity on Xbox has become synonymous with two things: eventually being ported to its chief rival platform, the PlayStation 5, and a 30fps lock. The latter is baffling.
A huge part of Microsoft’s selling point for its latest flagship console was that it was the most powerful console on the market. On paper, this is still true. But no one will defend this claim, even those who own an Xbox.
Now, not more than a year after Starfield became fodder for critics, haters, gamers, and pretty much the entire industry for, among other things, locking itself to 30FPS at launch, another highly anticipated Xbox exclusive joins Bethesda Studios’ first new IP in decades in this not-so-illustrious list.
This decision to lock Avowed to 30fps, announced by art director Matt Hansen during an appearance on the Iron Lords podcast, has highlighted what could be a lack of cohesion between Xbox Game Studios developers.
Hansen explained the choice to aim for 30fps was made early in the development process, allowing the team to focus on enhancing the game’s visual elements. “It’s a first-person, single-player game, you don’t necessarily need that 60 frames,” Hansen stated, adding that this approach enables the developers to create more impressive visual effects and lighting.
However, this decision hasn’t received much praise, if any at all. Many are voicing concerns about the potential impact on gameplay experience. More importantly, the decision has also reignited discussions about performance expectations for the Xbox Series X, which, as previously mentioned, Microsoft once touted as the most powerful console on the market.
Curiously enough, Bethesda’s Todd Howard said the same thing about Starfield last year, prioritizing visual fidelity over performance. The game later received updates to support 60fps modes, but at that point, the damage to its reputation and the Xbox brand had been done. Not to mention, if it was always possible to make the game run at 60fps even on Xbox Series S, then why wasn’t it made available at launch even on the Xbox Series X? This raises several valid questions and concerns about how the different developers that are part of the Xbox Game Studios work together.
Since this isn’t the first time this has happened, you’d think they’d share resources and help each other to avoid similar controversies.
Instead of being celebrated ahead of its launch on February 18, 2025, the frame rate debate regarding Avowed now extends beyond accessibility concerns, leaving some players feeling that Xbox is short-changing them by releasing a game that can’t fully take advantage of the capabilities of the machine they bought.
This lack of optimization becomes even more evident, considering visually impressive games achieve higher frame rates with much better fidelity on PS5.
Last year’s big PS5 exclusive title, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, offered a 60fps mod with ray tracing on PS5. Even the pseudo-exclusive Black Myth: Wukong, which is setting records right now and igniting talks of the need for a PS5 Pro, offers its players three distinct graphics modes, including the option to run the game at 60fps at 1440p on the PS5.
At this point, it’s hard to defend that a 30fps target could significantly contribute to the game’s immersive qualities when other narrative-driven titles can run at 30fps on PS5 at launch. Performance parity isn’t to blame, either. The Series S can actually run Redfall and Starfield at 60fps, suggesting the technology and hardware already exist to make it happen. For some reason, Obsidian isn’t taking advantage of it.
After already delaying Avowed with the lame excuse of giving players time to clear their backlog, Obsidian could’ve used this time to release a complete title that no longer needed further optimization beyond minor tweaks and improvements.
As what was supposed to be the studio’s take on the Elder Scrolls formula, a game that could potentially satisfy fans waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6, which is still years away, the expectations were quite high for Avowed.
Now, not only does Obsidian not enjoy the same benefit of the doubt as Bethesda did with Starfield, but it’s releasing a game at one of the worst times for Xbox exclusives as Microsoft fails to secure titles at launch and is pretty much signaling that it’s ready to bow out of the console race.
Obsidian can only turn this around by delivering a generational title that actually runs at 60fps on Xbox Series S/X. Otherwise, you’d best prepare the popcorn once the pitchforks come out in February.
