PlayStation 5 Former Principal Software Engineer Suggests Next-Gen Games Frame Rate Could Be Constrained By HDR and TVs

PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will be able to push next-gen titles beyond 60 frames per second, but some next-gen games have already been confirmed to run at 30 FPS. According to the PlayStation 5 former principal software engineer, there a few reasons behind this choice.

Speaking on his Twitter profile, PS5 former principal software engineer Matt Hargett recently discussed next-gen games running at 30 FPS. The choice is constrained not only by wanting the game to be “filmic” but also by the choice of pushing HDR and the TVs most people have. When the cheapest 4K TVs can only do 4:2:0 HDR at 4K, 60hz, 4:2:2 4K, 30hz will help more people experience it.

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More “concerns” about next-gen games running at 30fps: its an aesthetic choice to be “filmic”, like pixel art, but also constrained by what TVs people have. A popular line of cheap TVs can only do 4:2:0 HDR @ 4K 60hz. If a game pushes HDR, 4:2:2 @ 4K 30hz helps more people see it

Even giving the option between graphics and performance modes, as some current-gen games do, will apparently not do, as it is going to result in nonoptimal HDR since the problem are not the consoles themselves, but the TVs’ hardware.

This is a problem in the TV/receiver hardware processors, even when the HDMI port is 18+GBPs. You could do like current-gen and not develop your art/engine as HDR “native”. In practice this means bright explosions/specular highlights, but world is washed out/too dark (Mafia 3)

— Matt Hargett (@syke) June 9, 2020

Among the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X games that are likely going to run only at 30 FPS is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but it is likely not going to the only one if developers will want their games to be more cinematic than in the current console generation.

Currently, we can guarantee that Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will run at least 30 FPS. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will benefit from faster loading times, allowing players to immerse themselves in history and the world without friction. Finally, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will benefit from improved graphics made possible by the Xbox Series X, and we can’t wait to see the beautiful world we’re creating in stunning 4K resolution.