Microsoft has revealed a little more about how backward compatibility will work on the upcoming Xbox Series X|S. New details include free Xbox 360 cloud saves, texture filtering, and doubling the framerate of some games.
What's new with Xbox Series X|S backward compatibility?
This news comes to us via an official Xbox blog post. In the post, Xbox compatibility program lead Peggy Lo discusses how Xbox One and Xbox 360 games will work on Xbox Series X|S. Chief among the new and interesting announcements is the fact that the new consoles will utilize "new methods" to effectively double the framerate on some backward compatible games. Lo says this is possible thanks to the "increased CPU, GPU, and memory" from the new machines, as well as new techniques developed by the compatibility team. To show off this new feature, the post includes a video of Fallout 4, which was previously locked to 30fps on consoles, running at 60fps. This feature won't be enabled for all games; Lo says it only works with "select titles".
In addition to this feature, Lo also details how the Heutchy method - the method by which Xbox 360 and original Xbox games had their resolutions increased on the Xbox One - will inform backward compatibility on the Xbox Series X|S as well. According to Lo, the team will continue to use the Heutchy method in order to render games in 1440p on Xbox Series S and 4K on Xbox Series X, so if you've enjoyed games in higher resolutions on the Xbox One, you'll see similar effects in play if you're picking up an Xbox Series X|S.
What else does the Xbox blog post talk about?
Backward compatible games on Xbox Series X|S will also, in many cases, enjoy enhanced textures. On Xbox One, this was achieved with anisotropic filtering, and the same technique will be used for the new consoles. Lo says that "nearly all" backward compatible games will have 16x anisotropic filtering enabled, significantly sharpening the image and improving the visuals.
Finally, if you're an Xbox 360 fan, you're in luck. According to Lo and Xbox, cloud saves will "soon be free to all Xbox 360 users", enabling you to upload your Xbox 360 game saves to the cloud without needing to have an Xbox Live membership. Naturally, you'll then be able to use those saves on your Xbox Series X|S, assuming the console supports the game.
Xbox Series X|S will launch on November 10th worldwide. The Xbox Series X is Microsoft's flagship machine and is targeting 4K gaming at 60fps in most cases. By contrast, the Xbox Series S is intended as a budget next-gen option and will target 1440p gaming at 60fps. It'll still be capable of 4K gaming, but it won't be able to reach 60fps at that resolution in most cases.
Are you picking up an Xbox Series X|S? Looking forward to playing some old-school games? Let us know in the comments below!
