Microsoft is freeing up Xbox Series S memory to improve graphical performance
Microsoft has issued a new Xbox software dev kit to partners which frees up “hundreds of additional megabytes of memory” for Series S games, potentially to be reallocated to graphical performance.
As spotted by The Verge, a new video that has been circulated to developers who’ve received the software update claims that it “gives developers more control over memory, which can improve graphics performance in memory-constrained conditions.”
The Xbox Series S is Microsoft’s budget current-gen console, which runs the same titles compatible with the more powerful Series X, but typically at a lower 1080p resolution.
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“We addressed an issue where graphics virtual addresses were being allocated considerably slower than non-graphics virtual addresses,” continues the video.
This will now allow the Xbox Series S to take advantage of Microsoft’s recent advancements in memory management, “without negatively affecting graphics performance,” it adds.
VGC’s network partner Digital Foundry discussed earlier this year that some developers were struggling with adapting games to the lower spec of the Xbox Series S hardware, however other games such as Forza Horizon 5, boast incredibly impressive performance for a $299 machine.
The Xbox Series S has also proved to be a sales hit, with the console being the most popular machine during 2021’s Black Friday sales.
Elsewhere, a new preview being tested from today will let some Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members share their membership with multiple users.
Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed the next wave of titles heading to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
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