Xbox Series S parity: The Problem
In essence, the reason we're not getting Baldur's Gate 3 on Xbox Series X|S at the same as PlayStation, is due to Microsoft's feature parity clause between the two consoles. The Xbox Series X is the more powerful (more expensive) of the two consoles and can handle almost anything current-gen games throw at it. The Xbox Series S is another story, though.
Generally speaking, games on the Xbox Series S run at a lower resolution or lower frame rate (or sometimes both) to accommodate its specs. Many games tend to match the Xbox Series X for frame rate, usually taking a hit to resolution instead. The Xbox Series S is essentially a 1080p machine as such, designed for monitors or smaller TV sets, or even
portable Xbox Series S monitor attachments, giving it an almost laptop-like portability. The Xbox Series X is designed for sharper, larger 4K TVs, offering better image quality.
Where things get murky is Microsoft's feature parity clause. This stipulation suggests that games released on both the Xbox Series X|S need to have the same feature set, and can only diverge on performance-related things like frame rates or resolution. And this is causing issues for certain features which do require performance overhead.
Split-screen gameplay allows two users on the same console to experience the game side by side on the same screen. Halo Infinite was supposed to have split-screen co-op, but the feature was ultimately scrapped. (Image credit: Windows Central)
For
Baldur's Gate 3, getting parity for split-screen co-op across Xbox Series X and S has been blamed for the game's delay. Baldur's Gate 3 is a Dungeons & Dragons-like RPG, where two buddies can take command of different members of the party to go off and do different things, collaborating together and so on. Larian is releasing the game on PlayStation 5 in September with the feature attached but noted that they're having difficulty getting the feature running on the Xbox platform, owing to the Xbox Series S. Microsoft is supposedly involved in helping the optimization effort, with Larian noting that it hopes to have an update on the Xbox version "by the end of [2023]."
Split-screen is a fairly hardware-intensive feature these days, and Microsoft itself has dropped it from some of its games after previously announcing it. Halo Infinite notoriously was announced to have split-screen gameplay like the Halo games of yore, only for the feature to get canceled. Forza Motorsport, slated for October 2023, has also "delayed" its split-screen feature beyond launch. You have to wonder if optimizing for the Xbox Series S is to blame here — but it's unlikely that Microsoft would admit it were it the case.
www.resetera.com
www.windowscentral.com
