Xbox Series X|S just gained this great feature, but you'll have to wait to benefit from it

Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S (Image credit: Matt Brown | Windows Central)

What you need to know

The Xbox Series X|S Game Development Kit now supports select FidelityFX effects.
Game developers can now build Contrast Adaptive Sharpening, Variable Shading, and AMD's ray-traced shadow Denoiser into games on the consoles
It could be quite some time before gamers see the benefits of the newly added support.

Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S just gained support for several new graphics features. AMD announced that select FidelityFX effects are now available in the latest Xbox Series X|S Game Development Kit (GDK). With support for the FidelityFX effects, game developers can add Contrast Adaptive Sharpening (CAS), Variable Shading, and AMD's ray-traced shadow Denoiser to games on the consoles.

The Xbox Series X and Series are built on the same AMD RDNA 2 architecture as the AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series of graphics cards. FidelityFX is already available on some PCs, and AMD is bringing the technology over to Xbox consoles featuring the latest AMD hardware.

AMD GPUOpen explains how Xbox consoles will benefit from the new support:

This news makes it even easier than before to write cross-platform games, with developers able to access select AMD FidelityFX effects with specific optimizations for Windows and Xbox. Game developers can now utilize further platform-specific optimizations with AMD FidelityFX, straight from the Xbox Series X|S Game Development Kit.

While this is a major addition to the Xbox consoles, gamers will have to wait to see the benefits of the FidelityFX support. Developing games takes time, as does integrating FidelityFX technology.

Despite the fact that the PS5 uses AMD hardware, there hasn't been an announcement regarding FidelityFX technology on Sony's console at this time.

Sean Endicott is a news writer and apps editor for Windows Central with 11+ years of experience. A Nottingham Trent journalism graduate, Sean has covered the industry’s arc from the Lumia era to the launch of Windows 11 and generative AI. Having started at Thrifter, he uses his expertise in price tracking to help readers find genuine hardware value.

Beyond tech news, Sean is a UK sports media pioneer. In 2017, he became one of the first to stream via smartphone and is an expert in AP Capture systems. A tech-forward coach, he was named 2024 BAFA Youth Coach of the Year. He is focused on using technology—from AI to Clipchamp—to gain a practical edge.