Do the Xbox, PS5, and Switch Support Ultrawide Screens?
Are you considering an ultrawide screen for your gaming setup? Before you splurge, understand how popular consoles like the Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch handle this increasingly popular screen format, and whether you’re truly set to enjoy the ultrawide experience.
When you connect an Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, or Nintendo Switch to an ultrawide screen, you’ll find that they technically do work. The console outputs its video signal, and the ultrawide screen displays it. So, yes, in the most basic sense, your console will work with your ultrawide screen.
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However, you’ll soon notice that the image does not fill the entire screen. Instead, you’ll see black bars on the left and right sides of the image, if you’re curious. This is because consoles like the Xbox, PS5, and Switch are designed to output video at standard 16:9 aspect ratios.
Ultrawide screens, on the other hand, generally use a 21:9 aspect ratio (or wider). The mismatch between the console’s output and the screen’s aspect ratio leads to the black bars on either side of your screen. The whole thing is the opposite of a letterbox and is called a pillarbox on account of the left and right dead space resembling pillars on each side of the image.
Consoles don’t use the full ultrawide screen real estate because they’re designed to work with the most common display standards. Most TVs and monitors used for console gaming are still 16:9, and game developers design their games with this aspect ratio in mind.
Supporting an ultrawide aspect ratio requires additional work for game developers. They have to consider how the additional screen real estate impacts gameplay and balance, and they have to
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