FSR 4.1.2 support on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Xbox handhelds, Digi Mart USA News: With the Xbox Series X and S rapidly ageing, it looks unlikely that the next console generation will be affordable at all. As such, the publisher has been looking to AMD to bring its modern GPU feature set to older hardware.
AMD has now delivered, and Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Xbox handhelds now have FSR 4.1.2 support, which developers can turn on in their games.
AMD has updated its Game Development Kit with FSR 4.1.2 and two new upscaling models for Xbox Series X and S: the Full INT8 model and the more efficient Lite INT8 model. The Lite model is half the size of the Full model and has a lower upscaling cost.
Either console can use either model, but game developers can choose which type they implement.
AMD has released a GDK sample for developers to test. It switches between the Full and Lite models at runtime, so developers can compare image quality and upscaling cost in the same scene.
According to AMD, upscaler memory is the same for both models because it depends on render and display resolution, not on the model, which makes the choice a performance trade-off rather than a memory one.
Ancient Gameplays tested the Lite and Full models two weeks ago and found that Lite works better with lower input resolution and removes some visual noise that is kept in the Full model. The tester said the Lite model needs to be more stable because it will be aimed at handheld devices and laptop iGPUs, where render resolution will be far lower.
FSR 4.1.2 is also now supported on Xbox handhelds, starting with the top-end ROG Xbox Ally range. This support currently covers only the highly efficient INT8 model, and developers can access it only through Asus’ preview driver for the Xbox Ally X and X20.
AMD says it upgrades DirectX 12 games with FSR 3.1 or newer, and ROG Xbox Ally support will follow in a later update.
How developers integrate FSR 4.1.2 on Xbox Series X and S will be decided on a case-by-case basis. The strength of the Lite model suggests good prospects for future optimizations.
Earlier, RX 6000 graphics cards received FSR 4.1 a few weeks ago, giving older hardware additional performance.
The timing coincides with the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 on Xbox, which officially releases on November 19. Because the game is expected to be a graphical showcase, playing it on six-year-old hardware could be challenging, making the new upscaling support timely.
Xbox handhelds will not be able to play the game until the PC port is released.
