During Xbox’s 20th anniversary presentation from earlier this week, gamers received several surprise announcements. While the most notable might have been the unexpected launch of the multiplayer component for Halo Infinite, many fans were excited to hear that numerous classic games were receiving improved performance via FPS Boost on Xbox Series X. Among the games to benefit from these enhancements were a number of Sonic the Hedgehog titles from the Xbox 360 era.
Xbox FPS Boost is a system designed by the backwards compatibility team at Microsoft to improve the performance of games on next-gen Xbox consoles. As the name suggests, it increases the frames per second for titles compatible with the feature. Recently, Xbox FPS Boost was added to 37 games, increasing the total amount of supported games on the platform to over 100.
Among the classic games to take advantage of this FPS boost on the Xbox Series X were several Sonic the Hedgehog games. Due to this new update that added more supported games, 3 classic titles received a significant visual update. The games included Sonic Generations, Sonic Unleashed, and Sonic All-Stars Racing Transformed. Senior staff writer and video producer John Linneman for Digital Foundry even noted that Sonic Generations now runs better on Xbox Series X compared to the non-modded PC version. According to Linneman, the Xbox version utilizing performance boost can now display 4K visuals at 60fps. In addition, he noted that the game runs with AutoHDR.
Following the release of this Xbox FPS boost, many Sonic fans have expressed their delight on social media. A number of gamers posted videos showing off the stunning improvement to the performance of the Xbox 360 titles running on the superior hardware of the Xbox Series X. Some fans that had yet to purchase a next-gen Xbox commented that these enhanced visuals gave them a new reason to consider upgrading. In addition, other gamers lamented the lack of backwards compatibility support for PS3 games from Sony on the PS5.
These Xbox Series X enhancements for a few classic Sonic games are a pleasant surprise for fans that continue to wait for the next mainline Sonic title. Announced back at the end of May during a Sonic Central live stream, gamers received a first look at the next 3D Sonic game in development rumored to be called Sonic Rangers. However, since that initial teaser trailer, details have been sparse.
Regardless of when more news about Sonic Team’s next project is revealed, these new enhancements to backwards compatible games on Xbox Series X give players a compelling reason to race through some of the classic adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
Source: Pure Xbox