Five Bethesda games on Xbox Game Pass will benefit from Xbox Series X FPS Boost

Bethesda games on Xbox Game Pass
(Image credit: Microsoft / Bethesda)

Shortly after the announcement that twenty Bethesda games are now available on Xbox Game Pass, it’s been confirmed that five of these games will also receive a frame rate boost on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S

Speaking to Larry Hryb, on the Official Xbox podcast, Xbox Comms manager Jeff Rubenstein said (as spotted by Wario64 on Twitter) that The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Special Edition, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Dishonored: Definitive Edition, and Prey will all benefit from FPS Boost, which means their frame rates could jump up to nearly 60 FPS.

FPS Boost, announced by Xbox earlier this year, is part of a drive to help older games, as well as the latest games, benefit from the latest Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S hardware. Developed by the Xbox backwards compatibility team, FPS Boost “employs a variety of new methods for nearly doubling (and in a few instances, quadrupling) the original frame rate on select titles.”

Late last year, before FPS Boost was given a name, Xbox uploaded a backward compatibility frame rate technical demo in which Fallout 4 was shown going from 30FPS to 60FPS, giving a good idea of the difference this feature can make.

Not available just yet

It should be noted that FPS Boost on these games isn't available just yet and an exact date wasn’t revealed during the podcast. When Microsoft does add this support, you’ll have the option to toggle the feature on and off, if you ever feel like you might want to play them in their original state again.

This is the latest announcement in what’s been a big week for Microsoft and Bethesda, following the completion of Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks. 

The acquisition looks set to be a significant boost for Xbox Game Pass as during a “Bethesda Joins Xbox” roundtable held on March 11, Phil Spencer leaned into future exclusivity, telling Xbox players, “If you’re an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is that this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists. That’s our goal, that’s why we’re doing this, that’s the root of this partnership that we’re building.”

Via GamesRadar

Emma Boyle

Emma Boyle is TechRadar’s ex-Gaming Editor, and is now a content developer and freelance journalist. She has written for magazines and websites including T3, Stuff and The Independent. Emma currently works as a Content Developer in Edinburgh.