Xbox Console Exclusive Hellblade 2 Launching With Big Restriction

gamerant.com:

Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 will be capped at 30 FPS and will not have a Performance Mode available on Xbox Series X/S. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 is one of the most eagerly awaited Xbox games, and this news could potentially be a letdown for fans who want more options when playing on the console.

The sequel to Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was originally announced back in 2019, and it’s nearing its launch on May 21, 2024. Hellblade 2 will be a day one release on Xbox Game Pass, and it’s among the biggest first-party Xbox titles of the year.

Now, Hellblade 2’s VFX director Mark Slater-Tunstill revealed to GamePro (via IGN) that the game will be locked at 30 FPS with dynamic resolution on Xbox Series X/S and that gamers will not be able to switch to Performance Mode. This limitation, however, will not affect the PC version of the game. According to the director, locking the frame rate on consoles will give Hellblade 2 a more “cinematic” feel. Unfortunately, Slater-Tunstill did not reveal whether the decision was ultimately made due to technical limitations of the Xbox Series S hardware and if gamers can expect to play at higher frame rates in the future.

While games being limited to 30 FPS on console releases is not exactly uncommon, it can be quite disappointing for some fans. Last year, the Xbox console exclusive Redfall was also limited to 30 FPS, for example, and it had a pretty disastrous launch with several issues that took months to be fixed.

In any case, Microsoft believes that Hellblade 2 will be a critical success. Recent reports on the internal reviews for the title were highly positive, and the insider Nate the Hate claimed that Microsoft held internal mock reviews for the game, achieving an average score of 90.

The limitation of running at 30 FPS on consoles is not the only recent controversy regarding Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Earlier this year, some rumors surfaced claiming that the game would eventually be available for PS5. Soon after