60 FPS. It’s the thing gamers want in their video games, but developers are not always able to deliver. Many gamers were sold on the idea that the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 could run games at 60 FPS. As things stand in the current console generation, most games are still on 30 FPS, and those games that do run at 60 FPS, compromise on resolution and some image enhancements to get there.
Last week, we reported on Digital Foundry’s analysis of the rumored PlayStation 5 Pro. They explained that with the alleged specs, it won’t be possible for the console to run Grand Theft Auto 6 at 60 FPS, even with all the promised enhancements.
Today, they have come back to the video podcast to explain further. For easy reference, we will refer to their transcription of this episode on the Eurogamer site.
First things first, we do all need to remember, that when Rockstar finally released the 1st Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer, it ran at 30 FPS. Now, that doesn’t mean that 60 FPS is now impossible. What it does mean is that Rockstar gave use that trailer to set expectations on what they were aiming for with the new game. On the technical level, we were supposed to accept that a game running 30 FPS was going to have those stunning graphics.
Theoretically speaking, if Rockstar Games includes a 60 FPS mode to the PlayStation 5 version of Grand Theft Auto 6, then the PlayStation 5 Pro version will run that mode better. If the projected PlayStation 5 framerate falls in the 45 to 60 range, the PlayStation 5 Pro can raise that up to 55 FPS and above, or even clear that to a minimum 60 FPS and above.
However, we have to go back to Rockstar’s 30 FPS trailer. Digital Foundry explains here that making a dense open world game run on consoles requires both powerful CPUs and GPUs. In spite of all the enhancements rumored for the PlayStation 5 Pro, its CPU just isn’t as powerful as its GPU. And Digital Foundry does take the rumored CPU overclock into account.
Digital Foundry also explained what happened in the last console generation. On the PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One Pro, developers who tried uncapping the framerate on their more powerful hardware, only got their games up to 40 FPS.
There are other things the rumored enhancements to the PlayStation 5 Pro will do make Grand Theft Auto 6 look better. If Rockstar takes advantage of Sony’s PSSR upscaler, they can get a better looking image that appears to be a higher resolution than the game actually runs at.
Ultimately, Digital Foundry’s original assessment still applies. The rumored PlayStation 5 Pro specs are not enough to deliver what Rockstar showed us in the Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer. If Rockstar forced the issue, a 60 FPS Grand Theft Auto 6 on PlayStation 5 Pro will compromise on other aspects, such as resolution, image quality, etc. That would be missing the point, so they wouldn’t do that, of course.
In any case, this is all speculation over a console we don’t even know is real yet. Maybe we should really come back to this after Sony makes their announcement.
