Gears 5 Xbox Series X enhancements include ray-traced global illumination and possible 120 FPS mode

Gears 5 Xbox Series X Cutscenes 60fps
Gears 5 Xbox Series X Cutscenes 60fps (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

What you need to know

  • Xbox released several new tidbits of information for Xbox Series X today.
  • Part of this rollout was details on how Gears 5 will benefit from Xbox Series X.
  • Gears 5 on Xbox Series X will get Ultra level settings, with features like raytracing global illumination.
  • Gears 5 will be upgraded for free through Smart Delivery.

As part of the big drop of Xbox Series X information today, Xbox and The Coalition revealed new information on exactly how Gears 5 will benefit from the new hardware. For starters, Gears 5 on Xbox Series X uses the full slate of PC Ultra settings, which had to be pared back on Xbox One X. This means things like better textures, better fog and increased particle counts.

The campaign cutscenes, which run at 30 frames per second (FPS) on Xbox One X, now run at 60FPS on Xbox Series X. Load times are also heavily decreased and The Coalition told Digital Foundry that the game will feature ray-traced screen space global illumination. You can click the images below for an early technical comparison.

Gears 5 Xbox One X (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Gears 5 Xbox Series X (Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Source: Xbox Game Studios

The improvements don't stop there, as The Coalition also mentioned on Xbox Wire that Gears 5 runs at over 100FPS on Xbox Series X and the team is actively looking at 120FPS for the multiplayer modes. Gears 5 supports Smart Delivery, so these upgrades will all be free for Xbox Series X owners.

Xbox Series X is scheduled to release in Holiday 2020.

Xbox Series X/S

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Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.