It has been 8 months since we first published our PS4 vs. Xbox One Multiplatform game comparison and a lot has changed since then. The Xbox One has divorced the Kinect, freeing up 8-12% (depending on which source you trust) of processing power under the hood and both consoles have had SDK updates making them both more accessible and easier to develop for.
When we published our comparison back in July 2014, the PS4 had a distinct advantage. A third (31%) of all multiplatform games had a higher resolution and frame rate on the PS4 – but have things changed? Has the boost from cutting the Kinect-dedicated memory improved the Xbox One’s visual fidelity?
The short answer is no. Below is the list of every noteworthy retail multiplatform game that has released since our original article and if anything, the Xbox One’s position has worsened.
| Game Name | PS4 Frame Rate | Xbox One Frame Rate | PS4 Resolution | Xbox One Resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Redux | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 912p |
| Minecraft | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Destiny | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 1080p |
| FIFA 15 | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 900p |
| Alien: Isolation | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 1080p |
| The Evil Within | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Sleeping Dogs | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Shadow Warrior | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 900p |
| Lords of the Fallen | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 900p |
| Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 1360x1080 |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 15 | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 720p |
| Assassin's Creed Unity | 30 | 30 | 900p | 900p |
| WWE 2K15 | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Dragon Age: Inquisition | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 900p |
| Far Cry 4 | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 1440x1080 |
| The Crew | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Saints Row IV: Relected | 30-45 uncapped | 30-35 uncapped | 1080p | 1080p |
| Dying Light | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Evolve | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 900p |
| Golf Club | 30 | 30 | 1080p | 720p |
| Warframe | 60 | 30 | 1080p | 1080p |
| Plants vs. Zombies | 60 | 60 | 1080p | 900p |
| Battlefield: Hardline | 60 | 60 | 900p | 720p |
Of the 25 games on this list, the Xbox One fails to hit 1080p 12 times (48%). In comparison, the PS4 only fails to hit the native resolution twice – in Assassin’s Creed Unity & Battlefield: Hardline. No Xbox One multiplatform game has managed to achieve a higher resolution than the PS4 version of the same game since both consoles launched. The lowest resolution that the PS4 has achieved in the past 8 months is 900p. On the other hand, the Xbox One has had 3 games (Pre Evolution Soccer 15, Golf Club and Battlefield: Hardline) that have released with a resolution of 720p.
As for Frame Rates, the Xbox One has performed admirably, matching the PS4 across all but one (Warframe) of the 25 games on this list.
As stated in our previous article, this table does not take into consideration other aspects such as texture detail, depth of field, anti-aliasing, dynamic lighting and reflections and other technical wizardry which can make a 900p game look just as impressive as a game in 1080p. Visuals can also be a subjective matter, where a game looks darker or uses a more colourful palette and appears more appealing even though it has a lower resolution. An example of this is with Assassin’s Creed Unity where both consoles rach the same frame rate and resolution but stuttering and a more vivid colour palette mean the Xbox One version looks subjectively better than the PS4 version.
With the possibility that DX12 will reduce the Xbox One’s memory overhead and the estimated 15% ESRAM optimisation thanks to PIX, the Xbox One may be consistently matching the PS4 at 1080p in the near future. Of course, the teams at Sony are not resting on their laurels and the ICE team are already using a system very similar to DX12.
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