Halo Infinite Beta is really struggling on older consoles, according to performance report

Halo Infinite had its first technical beta last weekend, giving players a chance to try out the expected 343 shooter for the first time. Multiplayer matches have been staged across three maps with a variety of different robot types, giving a brief but not overly expansive view of the game with a build that its developer says is already several months old at this point. Digital Foundry used this limited test to gather some initial conclusions about Halo Infinite’s performance on all of its platforms, with surprising results.

First of all, the game runs extremely well on current generation hardware. The Xbox Series X and Series S both manage to maintain frame rate targets of 60 fps, while both perform well in 120 fps modes as well. The X Series sometimes exhibits quirks with jerking present at high frame rates, even with the variable refresh rate enabled. However, these don’t exist on the S-series, which means it may not be due to the console’s processor, but rather something on the GPU front.

Things are not so clear on older generation consoles. The Xbox One X does an admirable job of maintaining a 30fps goal while aiming for higher-resolution gameplay, but the Xbox One S struggles to hit that frame rate goal even with an update. aggressive dynamic scale of resolution. It’s a method of play that will likely make you consider an upgrade, with Digital Foundry expressing some curiosity about how that will play out in the more visually demanding single player mode.

In terms of resolution, Halo Infinite scales with the target frame rate, which means you can expect a 4K target when playing at 60 fps and around 1440p at 120 fps on the Xbox Series. X. Digital Foundry notes that this isn’t locked in at the best of times, with the X Series hovering around 1800p at 60fps and between 1080p and 1440p at 120fps. The S series is aiming for 1080p in both its frame rate modes and only really needs to drop significantly when targeting 120 fps. With this lens it usually hovers around 720p, but can drop down to 540p at times, which is pretty noticeable.

The Xbox One X is also aiming for 4K, which is allowed by the 30fps limit. The Xbox One S is in the same boat when it comes to frame rate, but still manages to drop all the way down to 540p in terms of resolution to keep it up. And given that it’s struggling to keep that locked in, it’s not a positive performance for the weaker console that Halo Infinite is about to launch into.

Of course, these results are exclusive to the content available in the technical test, which, according to 343 Industries, is not definitive. This means that improvements could (and probably will happen) before launch, but also that the results might not translate in the same way to the single-player component which has more AI and more demanding visual features, such as a system. dynamic time of day. 343 also plans to host at least one other tech test ahead of launch.

Halo Infinite launches this holiday on Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and PC. Like all other titles from Microsoft Studios, it will be on Game Pass at launch. Halo Infinite multiplayer will also be free at launch.