Xbox FPS Boost brings 60 FPS and 120 FPS backward compatible game boost on Xbox Series X, S

watch dogs 2
watch dogs 2 (Image credit: Ubisoft)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft first discussed possibly increasing the framerate of backward compatible Xbox titles in 2020.
  • Today, the team working on Xbox backward compatibility revealed FPS Boost.
  • FPS Boost enables higher framerates for select games, with five titles included as the first batch of games.

In the leadup to the release of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in 2020, Microsoft detailed enhancements being worked on for backward compatible titles, such as doubling framerates on select titles. Now, this feature is being officially revealed as Xbox FPS Boost, enabling higher framerates when playing certain backward compatible games on Xbox Series X or S.

The feature debuts with support for five games. Depending on the exact title, the framerate can be doubled or even quadrupled, with some games such as New Super Lucky's Tale now running at 120 FPS on Xbox Series X and S. You can check out the initial batch of games with FPS boost below:

  • Far Cry 4 - 60 FPS
  • New Super Lucky's Tale - 120 FPS
  • Sniper Elite 4 - 60 FPS
  • UFC 4 - 60 FPS - Xbox Series S
  • Watch Dogs 2 - 60 FPS

Oddly enough, Fallout 4, the game first shown using the feature in action back in 2020, is not among this first group of games, though it's possible additional testing was required. The boost for UFC 4 is specific to Xbox Series S because the Xbox One X version of the game (which is enabled on Xbox Series X) already unlocked the framerate.

Source: Microsoft (Image credit: Source: Microsoft)

It's worth noting you don't have to own a game to take advantage of this feature, as it'll also work if the game is in Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft states that more games will be added to FPS boost "very soon" while later in the spring, players will get a visual indicator that a game is being played with FPS boost and will have the option of toggling the feature on or off on a per game basis, as long as the title being played supports FPS Boost. This on-off toggle per-game will also be added for the Auto HDR feature.

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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.