Starfield on Xbox Series S is a surprisingly solid experience. However, Bethesda’s massive open-world space RPG is locked to 30 FPS on Xbox’s cheaper and less powerful console. But with some new fan-developed mods, Starfield can hit 60 or even 120 FPS on Series S, just be prepared for some less-than-great visuals.
Released in September 2023 on Xbox and PC, Starfield received mixed reviews from fans and critics at launch due in part to its disjointed universe largely created using procedural generation. The game was also criticized for lacking features and options, including no 60 FPS option on Xbox Series X/S when it first arrived. However, since its release, Bethesda has updated the game and added in many quality-of-life features, including better maps and even 60/120 FPS support on Xbox Series X. But the Series S never got a high framerate mode, so fans have stepped in to make this option a reality.
In a YouTube video uploaded by Fuzion Xbox Testing, we see what it takes to get Bethesda’s big space RPG running at 60 FPS on the Series S.
In the video, it appears that Fuzion is using seven different Creation Club console mods on Xbox Series S to achieve a higher framerate, including a mod that uncaps Starfield’s FPS cap and another that removes grass from the game. These community-created console mods were added to Starfield last week.
The end result is a not-so-pretty and very blurry version of Starfield that seems to run at a sloppy-but-playable 60 FPS when exploring planets or bases on foot. However, bumping the framerate up to 120 FPS using mods seems to push the Xbox Series S and the game too much, especially in space, with the game struggling to maintain anything close to a locked FPS.
Still, while it’s not a perfect way to play Starfield, it’s nice to see players adding the option to turn down the settings and play at a higher framerate. It makes me wonder if Bethesda could, in a future patch, tweak the game itself to add in some similar options, though I also imagine Bethesda doesn’t really want people playing Starfield at 720p. But that’s part of the beauty of mods, you can do things the publisher or developer doesn’t like or support.
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