Xbox Series X games could soon look better than ever – here's why

An Xbox Series X controller standing upright in front of the console
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Alex Van Aken)

Xbox games will soon receive big performance boosts thanks to AMD's FSR 2.0 tech: upgraded upscaling tech that's now available in the Xbox GDK. This means developers can start implementing FSR 2.0 for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One games, AMD announced in a recent community blog.

We've known the boost was on the way since March. Now that the tech has landed in the Xbox game developer's kit, hopefully it won't be too long before we see it supported in released games.

FSR (short for FidelityFX Super Resolution) 2.0 is already implemented in some PC titles. Early adopters of the upgraded tech include Deathloop and God of War. However, AMD's latest announcement means FSR 2.0 is no longer locked to the PC platform.

(Image credit: AMD)

The above image shows games that currently (or are planned to) support FSR 2.0 on PC. These, in addition to the vast number of games that support FSR 1.0, mean that AMD supports over 110 games with its upscaling tech. And there's more to come thanks to 2.0's implementation on Xbox.

As for what games will support FSR 2.0 on Xbox, that remains up in the air. Though we do have some clues thanks to this image. Grounded and Microsoft Flight Simulator support FSR 2.0 on PC. Both games are also console exclusives on Xbox. That could mean they'll be among the first to feature FSR 2.0 on console.

What improvements does FSR 2.0 bring?

FSR is AMD's upscaling tech, the first version of which launched just over a year ago. Games that feature FSR are able to bump up resolution through a temporal anti-aliasing technique. On top of that, FSR is also able to boost framerates for games that support it.

These improvements can be achieved by FSR with a minuscule hit to overall performance. It's a potential lifesaver for players who can't quite afford the best gaming PCs or the most powerful consoles on the market, but still want to experience games with higher performance settings.

By switching to a more efficient anti-aliasing solution, FSR 2.0 has thus far been a big improvement over the original version. The switch from spatial to temporal anti-aliasing also changes how FSR 2.0 analyzes individual frames. That means it's much more efficient than FSR 1.0 in providing more stability to higher framerate counts.

Rhys Wood
Hardware Editor

Rhys is TRG's Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for more than two years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, as well as the latest and greatest in fight sticks and VR, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.