A Borderlands 3 player encounters a surprising error while running the first-person shooter on an Xbox Series S console. Xbox Series S is Xbox's entry-level console, which aims at slightly lower performance targets in many titles when compared to the Xbox Series X.
The Xbox Series S was released alongside the more powerful Xbox Series X console on November 10, 2020. For a list price of $299.99, players gain access to a digital Xbox ecosystem on Xbox Series S including backwards compatible titles from the original Xbox to last generation's Xbox One. A lower price comes at the cost of some performance as the Xbox Series S targets 1080p and 1440p in most titles with a lack of ray tracing options. In 2023, some players cite this lack of performance on Xbox Series S as the source of stability issues in Atomic Heart, Wild Hearts, and other titles released thus far.
Xbox Series S owner jokekiller94 encountered a strange error while playing Borderlands 3, suggesting that the console ran out of available video memory while running the game. The error states that the console did not have sufficient video memory available to render a resource in Borderlands 3, immediately causing the game to crash and exit to the Xbox dashboard. Additionally, the error stated that the user should ensure that their video card has the minimum required memory to run Borderlands 3. This error prompt confused jokekiller94 since the console doesn't use a discrete graphics card like a gaming PC would.
Several users suggest that the error is common while playing Borderlands 3 on Xbox Series S, citing a potential lack of optimization for this particular version. Reddit user Hattix believes the game's engine may have misinterpreted the error code back from the API, leading to the strange error prompt that jokekiller94 saw. Others believe the error was caused by a memory leak, causing the game to crash in a scene that should run as intended in normal circumstances.
An exact cause for this error on Xbox Series S continues to be debated by players online, but the error highlights a problem that some games may face while running on the console. In this case, further game optimization may have been necessary to avoid the video memory error in Borderlands 3 on Xbox Series S. Fortunately, the error does not appear to be common while playing on an Xbox Series X console.
Several games are coming to Xbox Series X|S in 2023, and Xbox will reveal even more titles during its Xbox Games Showcase this summer. Optimized releases may encourage more gamers to pick up an Xbox Series S console later this year, so it's up to Xbox and its partners to deliver high-quality titles for fans and newcomers alike.