Mustafa Mahmoud 5 hours ago Console, Featured Tech News, Online, Software & Gaming
When PUBG first launched on consoles, in many instances the game struggled to hit even a solid 30fps. Over time, the team at PUBG Corp have been optimising the game for both PC and consoles, making for a smoother experience overall. Now, in a surprise announcement, those who own a PlayStation 4 Pro or Xbox One X can now run the Battle Royale game at a full 60fps.
As part of the game’s 9.1 console patch, PUBG Corp announced that “The Frame Rate Priority setting has some exciting changes this time around. The frame cap is now lifted to 60 FPS and the screen resolution will be set to 1920 x 1080 to increase frame rates. The new Framerate Priority is available on Xbox One X and the PlayStation 4 Pro, and we are investigating ways to bring the lifted frame cap to other console devices as well. Stay tuned.”
Across the full list of PS4 Pro and Xbox One X enhanced titles, only a few have managed to use the increased GPU power to double the frame rate, with many games opting for a higher resolution instead. While PUBG on these enhanced consoles previously ran at increased resolutions while maintaining a 30fps target, it appears as though PUBG Corp believe that the battle royale game would benefit greater from increased framerates.
Of course, it will be interesting to see whether both consoles will be able to hit and maintain its new 60fps target, or whether the frame rate will fluctuate depending on the action on screen. The full patch notes can be found HERE.
KitGuru says: Are you surprised by this update? Do you prefer increased frame rates or resolutions? Do you still play PUBG? Let us know down below.
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Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and S consoles have specific requirements when it comes to using expandable storage. Titles that are optimized for Xbox Series X|S and Velocity Architecture can be stored on USB 3.0 drives but can only be played on the internal PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD or the external Seagate SSD carts. Games that aren’t optimized, such as Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games, can be installed and played off of USB 3.0 external drives larger than 128GB.
(Image credit: Tomshardware)
It’s worth pointing out that the 128GB requirement is lower than the 256GB minimum requirement that once was specified for the Xbox One and Xbox One X. This has changed with the updated Xbox UI, which is available on both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S consoles.
As for why Microsoft is not allowing games that are optimized for Xbox Series X|S to be played on USB 3.0 drives, there’s a reason for that – speed. Both consoles exhibit enhanced loading times, enabling games to load much quicker than their current-gen counterparts. They also feature a game-changing feature called “Quick Resume,” which allows gamers to play one game, then instantly switch to another in seconds.
While USB 3.0 external hard drives are fast, they’re a far cry from speeds that have been noted for the Xbox Series X|S. Games that took minutes to load on the Xbox One now load half the time or less.
Xbox Series X vs Xbox One X load times
Game
Xbox Series X
Xbox One X
Destiny 2
43 seconds
1 minute, 53 seconds
Sea of Thieves
20 seconds
1 min, 20 seconds
No Man’s Sky
1 minute, 27 seconds
2 minutes, 13 seconds
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
30 seconds
1 minute, 7 seconds
Warframe
25 seconds
1 minute, 31 seconds
Final Fantasy XV
13 seconds
1 minute, 11 seconds
Red Dead Redemption 2
38 seconds
2 minutes, 8 seconds
Needless to say, this is why Microsoft wants everything to run off the internal SSD or external SSD carts.
The Xbox Series X|S next-generation consoles will launch on November 10th, 2020. The Xbox Series X is priced at $499 and includes a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVME SSD, while the Xbox Series X is priced at $299 and includes a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVME SSD.
Mustafa Mahmoud 4 hours ago Console, Cooling, Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
When the Xbox Series X was first given to a number of online influencers, one of the initial concerns noted was how hot the system seemingly got. While most likely hyperbolic, some claimed that the next-gen console ran hot enough to heat up the room, being hot to the touch. Digital Foundry have now analysed the heat and power consumption of the Series X, revealing that the situation is much less dire than some seem to think.
Notable video game technology analysts Digital Foundry were given a pre-launch Xbox Series X console, allowing them to perform a number of stress tests on the system in order to discover whether the console did indeed run as hot as some have claimed. From their findings, it appears as though the Series X maxed out at 62 degrees celsius. While this is undeniably warm, it represents an increase of only 20-30% over the One X.
(Image Source: Digital Foundry/ YouTube)
Furthermore, it appears as though the Xbox Series X consumes much less power than the One X. From Digital Foundry’s findings, Rise of the Tomb Raider on Xbox One X ran at 170w, whereas the Series X consumed a notable amount of power less, at 151w. This lower power consumption continues throughout, with the Series X using 0.5w of power when in sleep mode, compared to the One X which could go as high as 2w.
Of course, it is worth noting that the Series X’s power consumption and heat dissipation have currently only been tested on last, and cross-gen titles. It will be interesting to see just how much the system is pushed during the latter years of its life.
KitGuru says: Are you excited for the Xbox Series X? Are you concerned about the console’s heat? How many watts does your PC need? Let us know down below.
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(Pocket-lint) – If you’re looking for something to play on your Xbox One S or Xbox One X you’ve come to the right place.
There are now thousands of games available for the Xbox One and choosing between them can be a tricky task. However, we’ve played a huge amount of them over the years and have our own favourites.
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Here, then, are our picks for games you really should check out. Some are enhanced for Xbox One X and many of them are even available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – a subscription service to download and play full games as often as you like. It needn’t cost the Earth, therefore.
Enjoy.
Red Dead Redemption 2
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Although Red Dead Redemption 2 starts slow, the amount of depth and variety in mission types will soon have you well and truly hooked. It is also massive, so make sure you put aside a month to get through everything it has to offer. And, with the addition of Red Dead Online, you’ll have plenty to do even after the single-player story is finished.
Gears 5
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The fifth instalment in the Gears of War series – not including the prequel, Judgment – is a tour de force of a game that adds open world elements for the first time to great effect. It also puts you in the oversized COG shoes of Kait, the franchise’s first female lead character, and has some truly memorable boss battles.
Borderlands 3
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Gearbox has created the best Borderlands yet. It feels very familiar to the others in the series, which is to its benefit as that makes it easy to launch straight into, but there is enough new and improved to sate the appetites of fans and newcomers alike.
Borderlands 3 review: Bigger, badder and bloody… funny
The Outer Worlds
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If you’re a fan of action-RPGs and crave some proper Fallout-style action that’s distilled to its proper essence – i.e. with none of that building nonsense or other extraneous elements – then you’ll love The Outer Worlds.
The Outer Worlds review: Better than Fallout 4?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
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Along with the superb single-player campaign and Special Ops, CoD: Modern Warfare all adds up to a mighty fine package. If there was a suspicion in recent years that the Call of Duty franchise was beginning to creak under the strain of its annual nature (albeit with a rotating roster of three developers taking turns), this game does a great job of allaying such fears.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare review: Stronger than ever
Fortnite
Fortnite is free to play and aimed at everyone – kids and adults alike. The mixture of first-person shooter gameplay, base-building and cartoon graphics attract young and old and with cross-platform play you can even take on those on Switch or PS4.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
Otherwise known as PUBG, this essentially kicked off the now massively popular Battle Royale format. It started on PC but came to Xbox One first – in terms of home console releases. It’s no longer exclusive but the Xbox One version benefits from being around longer than PS4 and looks especially good on an Xbox One X.
Metro Exodus
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Post-apocalyptic games may have been done to death, but Metro Exodus still manages to generate a new spin on the genre, due at least in part to its uniquely Eastern European worldview. It’s a fine game too: beautifully crafted, intelligently placed, rich in terms of story and endowed with gameplay that is both satisfyingly varied and nicely fettled.
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Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
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Assassin’s Creed: Origins breathed fresh life into the franchise but Odyssey takes it in an all-new direction. Controls are similar, although the combat system gets even more of an overhaul and the game seems more like an RPG than before, with speech trees and levelling up on a scale like never before. Ancient Greece is also a great place to explore.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey review: Sparta-cular
Control
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If you like third-person shooters then Control offers up one that’ll feel quite unlike any you’ve previously played, thanks to its stratospherically weird paranormal storyline. Both in terms of gameplay and ambience, Control is utterly original, very distinctive and deeply satisfying, thanks to a decent roster of side-missions and challenges beyond the main story.
Control review: Gloriously bonkers paranormal action
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
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A delightful sequel to Ori and the Blind Forest, this lovely platformer will win you over with gorgeous artwork and smooth, satisfying gameplay. It’s an impressive package through and through, and can also scale up to give a serious challenge if you crank up the difficulty. Its gentle story and characterful animations should live long in the memory.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps review: Platforming perfection?
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
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This is a splendid remaster of one of the most endearing platform game series of the 90s. It offers each of Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon but with a major, modern overhaul of the visuals and audio. Developer Toys for Bob even got the voice actor for the two sequels to revoice Spyro in the first for continuity.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy initial review: The most lovingly created remaster yet?
Forza Horizon 4
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Not just one of the best driving games on the Xbox One, Forza Horizon 4 is one of the best on any games machine. Its UK setting works wonderfully for providing great variety in race styles and conditions. Plus, the seasons mechanic, with spring, summer, autumn and winter offering different themes throughout your gaming experience, makes for superb longevity.
Forza Horizon 4 review: Best racing game ever?
Hitman 2
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The Hitman reboot was a great episodic adventure but the sequel is even better – possibly the best stealth game ever, in fact. You’ll need patience but the sheer number of ways to complete each assassination mission make it a game you will come back to again and again. This game also upgrades the episodes of the first, so you can revisit them too using the new and improved game engine.
Hitman 2 review: An utterly sublime stealth game
Doom
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Whatever Bethesda may believe, and whatever the tastes of millennials, Doom is all about its single-player campaign, which is a blood-smattered brilliant beast of a game. It’s extensive, insanely hectic, unbelievably satisfying, gloriously gory to behold, and more than worthy update of the classic original.
Doom review: Redefining the remake
Resident Evil 2
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The original Resident Evil 2’s horror dynamics garnered a huge amount of praise at the time. The 2019 remake makes the maximum use of modern technology to take them to an even higher plane. As a result the new Resident Evil 2 is an absolute tour de force – it’s nothing less than an object lesson in how to remake an old game.
Resident Evil 2 review: An object lesson in how to remake a seminal game
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
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The last part of Lara Croft’s origin trilogy is also the best. It is bigger than her previous two outings, has a more involving storyline and plenty of tombs to raid. The skill tree and role-playing elements are superbly realised and the graphics are simply stunning at times – especially when presented in 4K on an Xbox One X.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider review: Stealthy finale for Lara Croft trilogy
Monster Hunter: World
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Monster Hunter: World proves to be gloriously addictive and endlessly charming, offering an open world experience like few others. Environments are teeming with life and the RPG elements are great and easy to get to grips with, even to franchise newcomers. You’ll soon find yourself addicted to both its charm and challenges. Much like us.
Monster Hunter World review: Taking down beasties in glorious fashion
Quantum Break
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Remedy’s action adventure has a stellar cast and incredible character modelling to look just like each and every one of them. The time-travelling sci-fi plot is engaging and the gameplay mechanics are innovative and interesting enough to keep you gripped to the end. Your time manipulation abilities are especially fun to use. However, the biggest elements to Quantum Break that make it stand out are the several 20 minute long TV episodes that punctuate the action and further the story. They will divide opinion but are well-worth sticking with.
Quantum Break review: All in good time
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
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When Electronic Arts secured the Star Wars licence, there was a lot of new hope (pardon the pun) that we’d get games of the quality of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and Knights of the Old Republic. Sadly, while Battlefront I and II offered great multiplayer action and authentic visuals, they lacked in story or depth. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order makes up for it in spades, with an expansive single-player campaign and gameplay that feels like a cross between Dark Souls and Tomb Raider. The force is strong in this one.
Just Cause 4
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As big fans of the series over the years, Just Cause 4 is everything we wanted in a big budget sequel. It offers similar crazy, madcap action sequences across an expanded open world environment. Most of all though, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and is as much a giggle as it is a bombastic gameplay experience.
Just Cause 4 review: The master of mindless destruction
Sea of Thieves
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Sea of Thieves represents a risky approach to create a gameplay experience which feels fresh and unique. But it succeeds. It might just be the first game to nail the knotty conundrum of providing the tools with which gamers can create their own narratives.
Sea of Thieves review: Terrific team-play let down by tedious tasks
Devil May Cry 5
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Devil May Cry 5 is such an extreme joy to play – and is built on such a logical, focused structure – that you’ll find yourself returning to it again and again, whenever you feel the need for a blast of cathartic, cobweb-blowing, spectacularly stylish action.
Devil May Cry 5 review: Focused and spectacular
Dark Souls 3
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As anyone who has played a Dark Souls game would expect, Dark Souls 3 is huge, gothic, creepy, studded with bosses which, when you first encounter them, seem impossibly daunting, yet irresistibly addictive. At times, you will curse the impulse which propels you back into its fetid world, as you struggle to advance even a couple of hundred metres. But the pay-off is that any small triumphs you manage to pull off will be so hard-won that they feel like mighty victories.
Dark Souls 3 review: As gothic, unforgiving and brilliant as ever
Halo 5: Guardians
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The fifth instalment of Master Chief’s adventures adds a fresh game style to the proceedings in the form of co-operative play during the campaign mode. You are always accompanied by three other characters for each mission, whether that’s with Master Chief’s team or a new team of Spartans led by Jameson Locke. And don’t worry if you can’t find three friends to play along with, Halo 5 does a very good job with artificial intelligence to give your companions life. There’s also the excellent new multiplayer mode to provide plenty of fun: Warzone. It can lead to some seriously bonkers battles.
Halo 5 Guardians review: Benefits with friends
No Man’s Sky
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While No Man’s Sky was criticised a fair amount straight after launch, continual updates and content patches have arrived to turn it into the space exploration game we all originally hoped for. And the long-awaited Xbox One version came with them from launch. Result.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
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Not just one of the best games on the Xbox One, The Witcher 3 can lay claim as being one of the best of all time. It is an extraordinary feat in game design, where it seems that every action undertaken in the massive third-person RPG has an effect on the game world. Save a merchant from some bandits in a random encounter, for example, you might meet him again many hours later in a city, where he gives you a massive discount on items he has for sale. The world itself also seems alive and vibrant while the game is also capable of testing your skills so you don’t just blitz through it.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt review: The best role-player since Skyrim
Grand Theft Auto V
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It took a while to get GTA V onto the current generation consoles but nobody can complain considering how much extra the improved game offers over the original version. For a start, Rockstar added a whole new first-person mode, which enables the player to experience the game from a different perspective, even if completed before. Plus, the graphics were given a tasty overhaul to make San Andreas look more spectacular than ever. And let’s face it, GTA V was always one of the best games available anyway.
Grand Theft Auto 5 review: Bona fide thrill ride on PS4 and Xbox One
Fallout 4
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Sprawling and vast, Fallout 4 is trickier to get into in comparison with the previous chapters on former generation machines, but it rewards stoicism with one of the biggest role-playing adventures of all time. It also adds a base building mechanic to the gameplay, where you can construct your own villages for fellow survivors, so adds something new to the first or third-person shooting and looting action of before.
Fallout 4 first impressions review: Radiating brilliance
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
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Kojima’s last Metal Gear Solid game for Konami also happens to be his grandest moment. Taking the franchise into the realms of open world seems to have been an inspired decision, with so much to do and missions to complete that you will be playing for hours. We know, we’ve still not seen everything there is to see in the game. We also love the way you can tackle just about everything in multiple fashions – run and gun or sneaking around are just two ways you can complete objectives, each causing different reactions.
Metal Gear Solid 5 The Phantom Pain review: The best stealth game ever made
Halo: The Master Chief Collection
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With Halo: The Master Chief Collection, 343 Industries put together an amazing package of the four best Halo games remastered for the current generation console. We’ve had Halo 5: Guardians since release, but the previous four are a worthy set of games regardless. The Xbox One version of Halo 2 is such an amazing upgrade to the Xbox original that it’s almost worth the money on its own.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection review: High-def history lesson
Destiny 2
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Destiny 2 might have had its critics at launch, but it has improved into a very fine game, with multiple upgrades and campaign add-ons over the years. And, with Bungie having made the core experience free-to-play after becoming a self-publisher, there is now no excuse not to give it a whirl.
Destiny 2 Shadowkeep review: A glimpse of what Destiny 3 will deliver
Minecraft
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The continuing success of Minecraft might come as a surprise to some but with each new release a new generation of fans is born. And, because Microsoft is now the sole owner of the series, the Xbox One version is exemplary. It also offers cross-platform play.
Alien: Isolation
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Winner in the best game category at the Pocket-lint Gadget Awards back in 2014, Alien: Isolation maybe took many by surprise with its adherence to the tone of the first Alien movie, both graphically and thematically. Rather that arm you with hefty weaponry and send floods of xenomorphs in your direction, the name of the game is survival as you are hunted through a destroyed space station by just the one Alien. Cue some pant-wettingly scary moments.
Alien: Isolation review
Far Cry 4
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Although we love Far Cry 5, the former outing for the series is one of our favourite first-person shooters and remains the better of the two. Far Cry 4 has everything a modern game should offer. At its heart it’s an FPS, but there are role-playing game elements, driving challenges, wonderful co-op play and one of the largest open world maps we’ve seen in such a game. The mission structure is excellent, while the amount of side missions and other things you can do is almost overwhelming. But perhaps the best thing about Far Cry 4 is the superb villain in Pagan Min. Evil and funny in equal measure and the closest you’ll get to a truly realised Bond-style foe in gaming.
Far Cry 4 review: A shooter like no other
Dragon Age: Inquisition
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Although it helps to have played the previous Dragon Age games on older consoles beforehand – at least to follow the plot – Dragon Age: Inquisition is a mighty role-pla
On Friday, Sony introduced the user interface of the new PlayStation 5. A matter of course for many fans: The UI interface is reproduced in full 4K, as was the case with the Pro version of its predecessor. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to rely on full HD for the Xbox One X, which has already caused a lot of criticism and incomprehension – especially since the hardware of the Xbox One X was superior to the PS4 Pro.
Now, John Linneman from Digital Foundry confirmed on Twitter that the menus of the upcoming Xbox Series X will also only have a maximum of 1.0 80 p will resolve. Every player will inevitably see this when he starts the console. The reasons for Microsoft’s decision are once again a mystery, the performance of the next generation should easily be sufficient for displaying the rather simple user interface.
This should be the case with the players who may still decide between the two consoles cause head shaking. Microsoft has been behind Sony for years in terms of console sales. A similar trend appears to be continuing with the PlayStation 5. Just recently, several retailers reported that pre-orders had to be canceled because demand would simply exceed supply. Some of the orders probably come from people who do not use the console themselves, but instead offer it at exorbitant prices on platforms such as eBay when there is a shortage, as with every launch. Nevertheless, this also speaks more for the popularity of the PlayStation 5.
Microsoft recently published a blog post that promises a clear advantage compared to the PS5: While the console mentioned is backwards compatible only up to for PS4 is enough and the games cannot do without updates and adjustments by the developers, all titles in the new Xbox generation should not only be compatible back to the original Xbox, but also be automatically adapted by the system to use the improved hardware close.
The Xbox Series X and Series S will be released from the 10. November delivered – the Sony PlayStation 5 from 19. November.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X doesn’t have it easy – on the one hand it should inherit the praised Xbox One X and at the same time provide enough arguments to be an alternative for those interested in Playstation 5. In the absence of powerful exclusive titles, the technology, multimedia and software functions as well as the apps must be convincing.
Until the market launch at the 10. November 2020 it is still a while – but Microsoft has already sent us an Xbox Series X. It does not work with the final one yet Operating system version, but otherwise already corresponds to the retail version. We were able to play around with this for a few days, understand the setup process, measure volume and power consumption for the first time, test new functions and try out numerous games. So much has been said in advance: The gaming cube made a decent impression – in many ways.
The Xbox Series X in the preview Before plugging in The Xbox Series X looks less brawny in the living room ensemble than the images floating around on the net suggest. Due to its simple, rectangular shape, it fits quickly into the existing environment – it neither disturbs nor is it a design eye-catcher. It doesn’t matter whether you set it up vertically or horizontally – as long as you make sure that the ventilation outlets remain free. The Xbox Series X measures 30 cm × 15 cm × 15 cm.
Xbox Series X next to the Xbox One X.
Microsoft supplies the retail version with an HDMI 2.1 cable and a controller in addition to the standard power cable. At first glance, the latter can hardly be distinguished from its predecessor: In comparison, it is ergonomically optimized, which is particularly beneficial for small hands, but it is still very easy to use with large hands. The feel of the control pad (D-Pad) has been changed: There is a sharp rise towards the edges, which means that the thumb lies deep and secure in a depression.
The Xbox Series X has an HDMI 2.1 connection, three USB ports (USB 3.1 Gen 1), an Ethernet port and a memory expansion slot.
(Image: heise online / how)
The entries in games and in menus are now a little more precise than with the old controller, but do not come close to the level of the second version of the Elite controller. A new share button allows game scenes to be shared more directly. Another new feature is a non-slip surface in the thumb root area, which might irritate some haptically sensitive players, but is an improvement for many. Overall, playing with the new controller feels good and precise.
Put into operation The Xbox Series X can be set up quickly and easily using the Xbox smartphone app.
(Image: heise online / mfi)
Setting up the console is quick and easy: the Xbox apps for Android and iOS help. We used the preliminary, not yet released iOS app. Here you log in with your Microsoft account, activate the console and enter a code visible on the television in the app to pair your mobile phone and console. From now on you have to work your way through options such as language, location and WLAN, after all the Xbox carries out the latest updates. Then you select the energy-saving mode (“Energy-saving” or “Fast startup”), configure login security and advertising information and finally update the controller. The whole procedure only takes a few minutes – unless a major update is due.
Annoying: Microsoft only shows the update progress as a percentage, the actual download rates remain hidden. Our VDSL line, synchronized with around 290 Mbit / s, was bored – more than 200 The Microsoft server did not send MBit / s. Incidentally, this also applied to game downloads.
Freshly set up, we first pulled down a few games – and waited. And at the same time discovered that 1 TByte is pretty tight in current games. Once Call of Duty here, Doom Eternal there, Red Dead Redemption 2 and no
After Sony released a new firmware for the PlayStation 4, all Xbox One owners can now look forward to a new update. The updated version of the operating system is available for both the Xbox One, the Xbox One X and the Xbox One S. With the introduction of the new user interface, according to Microsoft, the home menu should be just under 50% speed have won. The GUI is also the same design that can be found on the new Xbox Series. The manufacturer has largely held back with the changes. According to the company, the new design includes, among other things, an adapted tile shape and new fonts. The uniform concept can also be found in the apps and in the game pass of the PC.
In addition, the latest update from Microsoft brings new themes for the player profiles with himself. Console gamers are now able to select wallpapers from both the Xbox Series X and Series S. These themes can also be found in the Xbox app and the Windows 01 game -Bar again. An improved overview when logging in is also one of the new features of the updated firmware.
Furthermore, newcomers to the Xbox ecosystem will have it much easier in the future: Among other things, the list of the most recently used applications will already be pre-filled, which should mean that console beginners will Find your way around faster and don’t have to search for the appropriate settings in submenus. In addition, the manufacturer’s quick tips have been revised, which, however, should not be of interest to long-established Xbox users. The new update also supports the languages Czech, Greek, Hungarian and Slovak.
Mustafa Mahmoud 6 hours ago Console, Featured Announcement, Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
When Sony recently revealed its newly revamped PlayStation 5 User Interface, one of the points that it highlighted was the fact that the UI runs at a full 4K. This was expected, as so too did the PS4 Pro’s UI. That being said, it appears as though the Xbox Series X may not see similar levels of resolution dedicated to the User Interface, as according to one of the members of Digital Foundry, the Xbox Series X’s UI only runs at 1080p.
In a discussion surrounding the recently revealed PlayStation 5 UI, Digital Foundry’s John Linneman offered his thoughts on the Xbox Series X’s UI, saying “the big problem for me, more than anything, with the Xbox dash is the low resolution. I was disappointed with Xbox One X only offering 1080p UI rendering when PS4 Pro did native 4K but for 1080p UI to continue on Series X…that’s really not acceptable to me.”
The Xbox One X would have been entirely capable of running the Dashboard at 4K, and yet Microsoft opted not too. Though the Series X is still in a prerelease state, it is entirely possible that the Series X will remain at 1080p too.
According to Linneman, the reason for this limitation is that Microsoft “wanted to reserve more resources for games”. This makes sense, especially in light of the reveal that the Series X can hold multiple games in its cache for quick switching. That functionality is undoubtedly resource intensive, and a 4k Dashboard would simply eat into those resources the entire time.
Still, it is disappointing that in the age of 8K TVs and ever increasing display sizes, the Xbox’s Dashboard, which will be one of the main points of interaction for a player, is being limited to 1080p. Hopefully an update in the future offers a 4K option.
KitGuru says: What do you think of Microsoft’s decision to limit its UI to 1080p? Is blurry UI distracting to you? Or is it an economical move by the console manufacturer? Let us know down below.
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The Xbox Series X is set to release this November, bringing Microsoft’s flagship console series into a new generation. It follows the original launch of the Xbox One in 2013 and the release of the Xbox One S and Xbox One X upgrades in 2016 and 2017, respectively. And as we inch closer to that deadline, we’re learning more and more about the Xbox Series X. In fact, there’s enough information to put the Xbox Series X up against the PS5 in a face-off.
Microsoft has already officially unveiled the Xbox Series X’s full specs, with a commitment towards 4K, 60+ fps frame rates and ray-tracing. However, certain details are still unknown. That’s why we’re collecting all the information we know, confirmed and rumored, into one convenient page for our readers to keep up to date on the launch of the Xbox Series X.
Xbox Series X Cheat Sheet: Key details at a glance
Release Date
November 10th, 2020
Price
$499 or $34.99 a month for 24 months
Key features
4K at 60 Fps, 8K, 120 Fps, ray-tracing, fast load times
Key games
Halo Infinite, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, Full Xbox native backwards compatibility
CPU
Custom AMD Zen 2 CPU
RAM
16GB GDDR6 memory
GPU
12 teraflop RDNA 2 GPU
Storage
1TB NVMe SSD, proprietary SSD expansion slot
Xbox Series X Release Date
Avoiding previous worries that the pandemic might delay the console’s release, Microsoft announced on August 11th that the Xbox Series X will release this November, and on September 9th that it will release on November 10th.
This marks the latest in a trend of November releases for the Xbox line, with all three previous Xbox consoles also first hitting store shelves in November as well. That’s not too surprising, since it lets the console hit the holiday rush.
1TB expansion card, external USB 3.2 hard drive support
Optical Drive
4K Blu-ray
Display Out
HDMI 2.1
Earlier this March, Microsoft announced the full specs for the Xbox Series X, revealing a commitment to bringing PC style power to the living room.
The Xbox Series X will use an AMD Zen 2 custom CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads @ 3.8 GHz, a 12 teraflops AMD RDNA 2 custom GPU with 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM running at a bandwidth of 10GB @560 GBps and 6GB @ 336 GBps, a 1 TB NVMe SSD with a slot for an optional proprietary 1TB SSD expansion card, and a 4K Blu-ray optical drive. It will also feature USB ports for accessories and external hard drives.
Most of these specs are comparable to the PS5 specs Sony announced shortly after Xbox’s post, though the Xbox Series X features a larger SSD than the PS5’s 825 GB one, a slightly more powerful CPU at 3.8GHz vs 3.5 GHz, and a generally more powerful GPU than the PS5’s 10.3 teraflop, 36 CUs at 2.23GHz card.
According to Digital Foundry’s hands-on time with the Xbox Series X, all these specs come together to make it more than “twice as powerful as Xbox One X,” with it being able to run four Xbox One S game sessions simultaneously on the same chip.
Xbox Series X Graphics Performance
The idea behind these specs is to allow the Xbox Series X to support 4K gameplay at 60 fps across all new games, as well as 8K or 120 fps gameplay for some select titles. These Xbox Series X will also support variable refresh rate technology, which allows the console to automatically change its refresh rate based on the TV or monitor it’s hooked up to so as to avoid tearing and ghosting. On a similar note, variable rate shading technology is confirmed for the new Xbox as well, which will allow developers to dedicate certain parts of the GPU to specific effects, allowing for a steadier frame rate at high resolutions.
Microsoft also stated in a July 14th blog post that the Xbox Series X GPU will allow developers to more efficiently hold back graphics data until the exact moment when the game needs it, resulting in “2.5x the effective I/O throughput and memory usage.”
However, the most impressive announced graphical feature is hardware accelerated ray tracing, a technique that allows for highly realistic lighting, shadows, and reflection. Traditionally, the rendering time for this technique has been too long for use in games, but both the Xbox Series X and PS5 are promising to bring it to real-time entertainment in the next console generation.
We saw a glimpse of what Xbox Series X ray tracing might look like when Minecraft with RTX launched for the PC earlier this April. In our testing, we found that playing Minecraft with ray tracing enabled at a reasonable 24 chunk render distance required at least an RTX 2070 Super to hit 1080p @ 60 fps gameplay. If the Xbox Series X ray-tracing promises can keep up with that kind of power, that’s a pretty good indicator of what it’ll be capable of.
Xbox Series X Storage Performance
Powering all of these features is a new 1TB SSD, which compensates for higher resolutions by allowing for faster load times. On the software side, Microsoft is also creating the “Xbox Velocity Architecture,” which will take advantage of the SSD to allow “100 GB of game assets to be instantly accessible by the developer.”
The goal here is to allow for larger worlds and fewer loading corridors (which is when a game hides load times by trapping the player in an elevator or a thin walkway while it loads the next area).
On July 14th, Microsoft released a blog post detailing the Velocity Architecture’s details, where it explained that the Xbox Series X’s SSD will feature 2.4 GB/s of I/O throughput, which is “40x the throughput of the Xbox One.” The Xbox Series X will also use a custom texture data decompression algorithm named BCPack, which Microsoft will pair with the industry standard LZ decompressor to allow developers to reduce the size of their games.
To increase speed further, Microsoft is also advertising new tools for devs to control I/O operations and latency. For operations, devs will be able to create multiple queues for how the Xbox Series X I/O handles their games’ data, which will let them prioritize certain aspects of each game to their taste. For latency, they’ll be able to reduce screen tearing by decoupling frame buffering from latency, as well as reduce input lag by using “dynamic latency input” to capture “button presses as fast as 2 ms.”
(Image credit: Microsoft)
The catch to all of these features is that the Xbox Series X will expect all new games to be running off an SSD, as well as any backwards compatible games looking to take advantage of the new technology. A traditional hard drive just won’t be able to keep up, especially when it comes to eliminating loading corridors.
Should your internal SSD fill up, then, users looking to play the most recent titles are expected to buy a $220 proprietary 1TB SSD card for the system. This will run identically to the internal SSD once plugged in, as it is structurally the same. Microsoft has confirmed that older Xbox games that don’t use the Series X’s new features can still be run off external hard drives, however. The console has no current plans to support third-party SSDs, whereas the PS5 has announced it will support some M.2 SSDs after launch.
Both the internal SSD and SSD card will also allow for multiple games to be suspended at once, using a new feature called “Quick Resume.” This will also apply to older games being played off HDDs.
VentureBeat also did a teardown on Seagate’s proprietary SSD card, which gives us some insights on its componentry and price. Inside, the publication found SK Hynix’s new 4D NAND memory, a Phison PCIe Gen 4 controller and a CFexpress (or at least CFexpress-like) circuit board. There’s also thermal paste on the controller and NAND, so expect the SSD to run hot. Which explains the metal case- it’s meant to contribute to cooling.
Microsoft’s custom architecture is also at play here, which is good, because these components aren’t necesarilly worth a $220 price tag on their own.
Xbox Series S: 1440p @ 120 fps for $300
Microsoft officially revealed the Xbox Series S, its budget next-gen Xbox, on September 8th, 2020, finally confirming its existence after months of leaks.
The reveal came in the wake of a leaked (now officially released) trailer that confirmed speculation that the console would target 1440p @ 120 fps. While the trailer didn’t reveal specs, it did clue viewers into the Series S’ features. An all digital machine, it can natively run games at 1440p and “up to 120 fps” at the same time, supports DirextX raytracing, has a 512 GB NVMe SSD and can stream media at 4K with “4K upscaling for games.” It’s also “nearly 60% smaller than Xbox Series X.”
The leaked trailer also dropped probably the biggest news for a next gen console yet- the price. All of these leaks together seemed to force Microsoft’s hand, and the company officially confirmed the budget console in a 3:13 AM EST tweet.
? Let’s make it official! Xbox Series S | Next-gen performance in the ˢᵐᵃˡˡᵉˢᵗ Xbox ever. $299 (ERP). Looking forward to sharing more! Soon. Promise. pic.twitter.com/8wIEpLPVEqSeptember 8, 2020
Looking something like a large speaker, the Xbox Series S is $299. Even with 1440p @ 120 fps specs, that’s cheap, and given that the leaked trailer heavily pushes Game Pass, it’s probably being sold at a loss to encourage subscriptions. If $299 is still too much of an upfront cost, though, you can also finance the console starting at $24.99 for 24 months (which adds up to $599.76).
Microsoft has since posted the trailer in an official capacity, officially confirming its feature list.
CPU
8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU @ 3.6 GHz (3.4 GHz w/SMT)
GPU
AMD RDNA 2 GPU 20 CUs @ 1.565 GHz
GPU Power
4 TFLOPS
SoC
Custom 7nm SoC
RAM
10GB GDDR6
RAM bandwidth
8GB @ 224GB/s, 2GB @ 56GB/s
Storage
Custom 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
Expandable Storage
1 TB expansion card
Disc Drive
Digital Only
Display Out
HDMI 2.1
On September 9th, Microsoft followed up its Xbox Series S price and features reveals with a full list of specs. The biggest difference between the Series X and the Series S seems to be the GPU, with the Series S downgrading to a 20 CUs RDNA 2 GPU with about 4 teraflops of power. Aside from that, it uses the same CPU architecture as the Series X (though with slightly less power), and the same SSD architecture but with less capacity. It also has less memory and is digital only, but Microsoft still boasts that it “delivers 4x the processing power of an Xbox One console.”
The Xbox Series S will launch this November, alongside the Xbox Series X.
Xbox Series X Price and Payment Options
While Sony has yet to drop the price on the PS5, Microsoft announced on September 9th that the Xbox Series X would cost $499.99.
That’s the same as what the Xbox One cost at launch, and is only $100 more than the original Xbox 360’s launch price.
If $500 upfront is too steep, though, you’ll also be able to finance the Xbox Series X, starting at $34.99 a month for 24 months. Careful, though- you’ll eventually end up paying $839.76 for the console if you buy it completely through a payment plan.
Microsoft also announced last October that anyone currently financing an Xbox One who has already made at least 18 payments will be able to upgrade their plan to a Series X when it launches.
Xbox Series X Controller
(Image credit: Microsoft)
The Xbox Series X controller is set to be largely identical to the Xbox One controller, aside from a few quality of life upgrades.
In a move that will come as a relief to those of us with tiny hands, the blog post announcing the controller says that its “size and shape have been refined to accommodate an even wider range of people.” The new controller also seems to be taking notes from the PS4 controller by including a dedicated share button. The triggers and bumpers feature a new matte finish, and the bumpers include new textured dots as well. The D-pad has been redesigned to better match the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller.
If you prefer your existing stuff, the Xbox Series X is also set to work with all existing Xbox One accessories, including controllers.
Xbox Series X Backwards Compatibility
The Xbox Series X is set to include full native backwards compatibility with all Xbox One games, as well as an unspecified but seemingly wide selection of original Xbox and Xbox 360 games. Because the games are running natively, they can all expect to see some improvement from the more advanced hardware.
Some Xbox One games running on the Xbox Series X/S via SSD are also set to be “Optimized for Xbox Series X,” meaning that they will feature dramatically higher frame rates and resolution than when playing on Xbox One. This means that, aside from base-level upgrades from simply playing on more advanced hardware, the developers have gone out of their way to patch in extra features that are only available on Xbox Series X/S. For instance, Gears of War 5 is currently being optimized for Xbox Series X, with the team already hitting 4K 60 fps resolution on equivalent settings to PCs running the game on “Ultra,” as well as 100 fps at lower resolutions. Other older games like Destiny 2 will also be optimized for Xbox Series X, though curiously, all new Xbox Series X games will also have branding to indicate their optimization for the system on the box. This is presumably because these newer games are also set to be playable on the Xbox One, at least for the first few years of the console’s lifespan (more below).
Microsoft is also planning a new “Smart Delivery” feature, which will allow gamers to only buy games once and then share them across multiple consoles. No more having to buy PS3 games remade for PS4 to use the new console’s higher specs. Just buy the base game once, and it will automatically use the highest specs available depending on the system it’s being played on. In other words, like a PC, your system determines your performance more than the game.
The move to native compatibility is also a step-up from the emulation-based compatibility that the Xbox team relied on for backwards compatibility on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. A May 28th blog post claimed the Xbox Series X will have “thousands of games at launch,” and on October 15th, Xbox confirmed that the following games will be “optimized for Xbox Series X.”
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Borderlands 3
Bright Memory 1.0
Cuisine Royale
Dead by Daylight
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
DIRT 5
Enlisted
Evergate
The Falconeer
Fortnite
Forza Horizon 4
Gears 5
Gears Tactics
Grounded
King Oddball
Maneater
Manifold Garden
NBA 2K21
Observer: System Redux
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Planet Coaster
Sea of Thieves
Tetris Effect: Connected
The Touryst
War Thunder
Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition
Watch Dogs: Legion
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Yes, Your Grace
Xbox Series X Games
On July 23rd, Xbox held an event that outlined 27 games that are confirmed for Xbox Series X. These include exclusives like Halo Infinite andSenua’s Saga: Hellblade II, as well as a number of multi-platform releases like Watch Dogs Legion. Outside of the event, Xbox has also previously confirmed that games like Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and Starfield will be coming the Xbox Series X as well.
Most of these games have trailers that help give us an idea of what the console can do. This includes Hellblade II, which is confirmed to be the first Xbox Series X game to use Epic’s impressive new Unreal Engine 5. Halo Infinite also premiered an extended gameplay demonstration during the July 23rd event.
To give you an idea of what Unreal Engine 5 on Xbox Series X means, a PS5 demo Epic released to show off UE5’s capabilities used an environment constructed from 8K cinematic assets, including a room with over 500 instances of full 33 million triangle direct ZBrush imports, with no frame drops. The Xbox Series X will no doubt target the same kind of power, so get ready for some big games.
Microsoft has also confirmed that all exclusives for the Xbox Series X will also be playable on Xbox One and PC. This mirrors the company’s recent initiative to release all of its new Xbox One games on PC as well. However, this might change in the future, as Head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty only confirmed the promise for “the next year, two years,” according to MCV. That’s probably because Microsoft doesn’t want the Xbox One to hold it back as developers get more familiar with the Series X.
Xbox has promised that the Xbox Series X will have “over 100 titles” at launch, though an August 11th announcement stated that Halo Infinite will not be one of them. Here’s a full list of games confirmed for Xbox Series X:
Dragon Quest XI
Exomecha
Watch Dogs Legion
Echo Generation
Balan Wonderland
Halo Infinite
State of Decay 3
Unnamed Forza Motorsport game
Everwild
The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon
Tell Me Why
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Optimized for Xbox Series X)
Grounded
Avowed
As Dusk Falls
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
Psychonauts II
Destiny 2 (Optimized for Xbox Series X)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
Warhammer 40000: Darktide
Tetris Effect Connected
The Gunk
The Medium
New Genesis: Phantasy Star Online 2
Crossfire
Unnamed Fable game
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
Cyberpunk: 2077
Starfield
Gears of War 5
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
Fortnite
Warframe
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2
The Ascent
Second Extinction
Scorn
Scarlet Nexus
Dirt 5
Chorus
Call of the Sea
Bright Memory Infinite
Gods and Monsters
Rainbow Six Quarantine
Rainbow Six Siege
Madden NFL 21
Ultimate Fishing Simulator 2
Xbox Series X Pre-order
On September 9th, Microsoft posted on its blog that pre-orders for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will both start on September 22nd. Xbox also told us over email that pre-orders will begin at 8:00 am PDT/11:00 am EDT, and that retailers taking pre-orders will include Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Gamestop, Newegg and the Army and Airforce Exchange Service.
Xbox Series X Design
Yes, it still looks like a fridge.
Fridge for scale. #PowerYourDreams pic.twitter.com/2n4OEUKXUzMarch 16, 2020
The Xbox Series X focuses on a vertical orientation and a featureless black exterior with big “monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey” vibes. While it can be placed horizontally, its rectangular design resembles a computer tower more than a game console, so it’s unlikely to be thin enough to fit under a monitor. On the top is an indented cooling vent with what looks to be a green light inside, with the back housing the I/O, including the proprietary SSD expansion slot.
With the launch of Microsoft’s next-generation consoles, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, right around the corner, Xbox has released a list of games that have been optimized for the hardware.
These titles are different from the backward compatible games, which are essentially brute-forced on the Xbox Series X|S with some enhancements being added to the games via the hardware. The optimized titles are different because the developer has provided an update that further enhances the games. In some respects, these games will run on par with their PC counterparts, or better.
Gears 5 is a good example, too, as the developer of the game, The Coalition, has confirmed that the game will use full PC Ultra settings with higher-resolution textures and volumetric fog. Also, Playground Games confirmed that Forza Horizon 4 would support a native 4K 60 frames per second, higher visual fidelity at longer distances, and faster loading times.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Here’s a list of the games that have been optimized for play on both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
You’ll notice some of these games include upcoming titles such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition. While titles that once graced the Xbox One and Xbox One X, including Gears 5 and Forza Horizon 4, will look and play differently on the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Smart Delivery)
Borderlands 3 (Smart Delivery)
Bright Memory 1.0
Cuisine Royale (Smart Delivery)
Dead by Daylight (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
DIRT 5 (Smart Delivery)
Enlisted
Evergate
The Falconeer (Smart Delivery)
Fortnite
Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Gears 5 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Gears Tactics (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Grounded (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
King Oddball (Smart Delivery)
Maneater (Smart Delivery)
Manifold Garden (Smart Delivery)
NBA 2K21
Observer: System Redux
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Planet Coaster (Smart Delivery)
Sea of Thieves (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Tetris Effect: Connected (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
The Touryst (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
War Thunder (Smart Delivery)
Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition
Watch Dogs: Legion (Smart Delivery)
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship (Smart Delivery)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Smart Delivery)
Yes, Your Grace (Smart Delivery)
(Image credit: Xbox)
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will launch on November 10th, 2020. Did you manage to get a pre-order in? Or are you looking to test your luck by picking up either of the consoles in stores on launch day? We’d love to know in the comments.
(Pocket-lint) – If you’ve never used a headset to game with, you’ve got a revolution coming – once you step into the world of high-quality game audio it can be hard to come back.
Top Xbox One games: Best Xbox One S and X games every gamer must own
Whether you want it for singleplayer story-driven experiences, or to give you the edge in multiplayer deathmatches, unless you’ve got an astonishingly good home theatre setup you’re going to notice a big difference when moving to a headset.
However, many headsets don’t work with every games console, and it’s important to look into which will work best for you. We’ve spent the last few weeks exhaustively testing a wide range of headsets with our Xbox One, putting them through their paces and determining which you should consider for your own gaming setup. Happily, all the headsets we’ve featured here will also work with the Xbox Series X and Series S, so you’ll be covered for next-gen gaming, too.
How can I connect a headset to my Xbox?
It’s easy to forget but, when Microsoft released the Xbox One, its first controller didn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack. This meant you had to use an adapter to connect a wired headset via the controller, and you might still have to if that’s the version of the controller you use.
Xbox One X vs Xbox One S vs All-Digital Edition: Which should you buy?
However, more recent editions of the controller, including the newest that comes with the Xbox Series X and Series S, have that all-important jack to let you plug in more easily. Finally, you might find that some wireless controllers use a dongle to connect without cables.
Another less common way of connecting, but arguably the ideal, is through Xbox Wireless – the same standard that Xbox’s own first-party controllers use to connect to your console. This makes for the most solid connection, the easiest reconnecting, and has the added bonus of being guaranteed to work with the new consoles when they’re out.
In case a step-by-step guide is useful, though, follow these steps to connect your headset:
If your headset is wired, plug it into either the headphone jack on your Xbox controller, or the Xbox One Stereo Headset Adapter to get game audio.
If it’s wireless, plug in any dongles provided to your Xbox and turn on the headset to pair.
If it uses Xbox Wireless, press the pairing button on the front of your Xbox and wait for its logo to flash on and off.
Put your headset into pairing mode by following the manufacturer’s instructions, then wait for the two devices to pair. When they have paired, you should see a headset logo to the top left of the Xbox dashboard, along with a battery indicator.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in and look at some of our favourite headsets.
Best overall Xbox headsets
Pocket-lint
Steelseries Arctis 9X
Steelseries takes the top spot in our list because it nails the combination of convenience and quality that we’re looking for when it comes to a console headset. It’s a genius revision of the manufacturer’s top headset, adding in the Xbox Wireless standard to make for superb connectivity.
This means it connects directly to your console like a controller would (and that it will be able to do the same for the Xbox Series X when it releases), which makes for rock-solid connections and no perceptible lag.
Plus, the headphones are really nicely constructed and extremely comfortable to wear and, more than that, have easily the most subtle design we encountered in our testing (only Logitech’s effort comes close). The microphone even stores away for when you’re playing solo.
Finally, sound quality is superb, especially if you enable Windows Sonic or, better yet, Dolby Atmos for headphones. You’ll gain a real advantage in reaction-based multiplayer games, and be fully immersed in singleplayer adventures. We can’t really recommend this headset highly enough, to be honest.
Steelseries
Steelseries Arctis 7X
View offer on Steelseries.com
Steelseries doesn’t just have the Arctis 9X, though – its most recent addition to the Xbox lineup is the slightly more affordable (although still premium) Arctis 7X, and it’s a superb choice if your budget is a little lower.
The comfort is superb, and the headset is actually extremely similar to the 9X with a few slightly lighter and less solid design elements being the only real clue. The sound, in particular, is pretty indistinguishable, and you have the same array of on-earcup controls for quick changes.
Pocket-lint
Razer Nari Ultimate
The USP for Razer’s humongous Nari ultimate is a relatively mad one – haptic feedback in the very earcups (which, on their own, are extraordinarily comfortable and cleverly cooling).
That manifests as subtle or violent vibrations, depending on your own tuning, which synchronise with the sound of your game, not the vibrations of your controller. Turned up to the max that meant our very footsteps in Call of Duty produced crunching sensations on sandy maps, which felt undeniably cool. Whether it’s immersive enough to still be used 20 hours into an RPG is harder to say, but it’s a pretty nifty feature.
Handily, though, the Nari Ultimate impressed us even ignoring the haptics entirely. It’s got fantastic, booming sound, and a nice microphone that collapses most of the way into the body when not in use. Plus, like the SteelSeries in top spot, it uses Xbox Wireless for super easy pairing and rock-solid connectivity. It’s a compelling package, with a premium price tag attached, although we’re not quite won over by the simply massive size of the headphones as a whole.
Interestingly, though, if you don’t fancy the haptic feedback you can get a very similar package for a lower price in the form of the Razer Thresher headset, which is worth bearing in mind.
Pocket-lint
Astro A40 TR with MixAmp
If we’re going on sound quality alone, there’s no doubt that the Astro A40s are the best headphones we’ve tested for the Xbox One – the only downside being that they’re a little more involved to set up, and are wired.
They’re at their best paired with Astro’s MixAmp Pro, which lets you easily control the master volume and voice chat balance while you play, and also amplifies your sound to let you use Dolby Atmos, and trust us when we say that you’ll hear the difference.
It brings proper directional audio to the table, and the first time we fired a revolver in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare using the A40s all hooked up, we were honestly startled by how real it sounded and felt. That said, these headphones are pretty pricey if you’re buying the MixAmp too, and the fact that it all has to be wired to your console is a bit of a hindrance, especially if you don’t sit that near it.
Still, they’re supremely comfortable, made with clear attention to detail and quality materials, and the microphone is also great – that’s a pretty comprehensive package.
One important note, though, is that the lack of optical port on the next-generation Xbox Series X and S means that you’ll need to buy an adapter direct from Astro for these to work going forward, which is an unavoidable bummer.
Pocket-lint
Logitech Pro X
Logitech’s managed a real marvel with its Pro X headset – it’s priced it at a level that’s decidedly mid-range, but specced it out like a top-class headset, with the packaging and user experience to match.
It’s the only headset we tested, for example, to come with swappable earpads in the box, not just as an optional extra (leatherette or velour finish, if you’re interested, both very comfortable). You get multiple premium cables depending on what device you’re connected it to, a detachable microphone and a design that’s frankly gorgeous, especially in the realm of gaming headsets. I mean, it even comes with a lovely carrying pouch, again unlike any others we tested.
Plus, at its heart, the sound is superb, with really excellent detail and balance that should have you hearing things you never noticed before. Literally the only slight negative we could find was that its inline controller lets you change volume and mute yourself but not adjust chat balancing, which is hardly a huge sin. For its price, this is a seriously impressive set of cans.
Pocket-lint
Corsair Virtuoso RGB
Corsair’s fancy headphones work fine on your Xbox, with one big drawback – they’re wireless on PlayStations or PC, but can only go via 3.5mm jack for Microsoft’s console. That’s far from the end of the world, to be honest, and we’re judging them as wired headphones, through which lens they still impress.
They’re really comfortable, although also pretty chunky, and the sound quality on offer is really quite superb, sure to give you an advantage regardless of your genre. They’re also pleasingly understated, especially with the RBG lighting disabled, which many people will see as a positive. They might not be console-specific, but Corsair’s premium cans are still winners.
Pocket-lint
Astro A20 Wireless
Astro might have some seriously high-end headsets, but it’s also got more mid-range options, and the A20 offers a great way to get high-quality wireless audio without breaking the bank too badly.
It uses a USB dongle to connect to your Xbox wirelessly, and is pretty easy to set up, and the audio quality you get out of the box is really impressive compared to others at this price point. The on-earcup controls let you change the game/voice balance, although we found this a little fiddly in practise, while swinging the microphone up and away from your mouth mutes you.
This is a really solid package that’s also super comfortable to wear, although we’re not totally sold on its looks.
Pocket-lint
SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless
The Arctis 1 is one of the best affordable headsets on the market, and its 3.5mm wired connection works with every console, but if you want it wireless it’s a little more complex.
SteelSeries has released a new version of the Arctis 1 Wireless which works with Xbox consoles, Switch, mobiles and PC, though, and it’s become our new favourite budget headset (although the wired version is clearly the ultimate offering from a value perspective). It’s a really lightweight headset, but in a way that makes them really nice to wear for longer sessions.
It uses a USB-C dongle to connect to your console, and works seamlessly and quickly, and while the sound is stereo-only, it’s really punchy and nicely balanced. Plus, the mic pick-up is really solid, and being able to play wirelessly is a boon. For sheer adaptability, this is as good as wireless play gets, in fact.
Pocket-lint
Razer Kraken X
Razer’s Nari Ultimate might have the bleeding-edge features and wireless play, but don’t discount the Kraken X, its wired headset. For one thing, it’s compatible with the full range of consoles through its 3.5mm jack, making it more adaptable.
It’s also super lightweight and comfortable, and less massive than the Nari, with impressive sound performance and a really solid microphone. Its ear cushions have memory foam inserts which explains some of how easy it is to wear for long periods, while the requisite on-headset controls are present in the form of a volume dial and mute switch.
It might not be the most remarkable headset, but if you like its looks (especially the lovely white version we’ve been using), it’s a really good choice.
Pocket-lint
JBL Quantum 600
JBL’s pretty new to the gaming headset scene, but that hasn’t stopped it from launching the Quantum line at a whole bunch of different price points.
Our favourite is the Quantum 600, rather than the more expensive Quantum One, largely because we think it’s got the best bang for your buck. You get really great sound and solid, comfortable build quality, although sadly its wireless mode doesn’t work with Xbox at present. Still, this is a nice choice using a 3.5mm connection.
Pocket-lint
Fnatic React
Fnatic’s headset is a great low-to-mid-range option that doesn’t do anything fancy, but nails the fundamentals of really good sound and solid comfort – plus, we have to say that we’re rather impressed by how nice it looks, all the more so when you consider that it’s coming from an eSports brand.
Its earcups are large and sound-blocking to give you good isolation, and its stereo sound is as good as you could hope for at its price, which makes for an entirely solid package.
Pocket-lint
Corsair HS60 Surround
Corsair’s got less expensive options than the Virtuoso RGB up above, and the HS60 surround is a good example of what it can do – it’s got a nice, premium design with those yellow accents in particular quite lovely to look at. A detachable mic is solid on the voice-comms front, and the drivers Corsair’s packed in deliver great sound.
Sadly, its surround sound is limited to PC users, but you’ll still get impressive bass and depth from your Xbox. Slight duff notes come in the form of a slightly tight fit that can feel a bit pressing over longer sessions, and a lack of chat-game balance controls on the headset itself.
Pocket-lint
HyperX CloudX Stinger Core
HyperX has got another option for the cheaper end of the wired headset market, in the form of the CloudX Stinger Core, and while it didn’t blow us away it’s another solid option in this bracket, and manages a really impressive price.
Its build quality can’t quite match SteelSeries or Roccat’s headsets, but the sound quality is in the same ballpark, and the headset is light and comfortable (although it’s also on the flimsier side of those we’ve tried).
The microphone, which can swivel out of the way when it’s not needed, is clear and solid in use, while inline controls on the audio cable are a smart touch.
Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.
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