There was a lot of confusion around Obsidian Entertainment’s new game, these past couple days. Naturally, Internet discourse also took everything to the extremes. However, there was a solid enough reason this time. For The Outer Worlds 2, our very own review guides mentioned the various available graphics modes for consoles. In that, 60 frames per second Performance Mode was missing from PlayStation 5. So, what gives? Does The Outer Worlds 2 not support 60fps on PS5?
Performance exclusivity?
This entire ordeal was a bit bizarre from the start. As our team received the review copies for the game, me and our co-owner and reviews editor Jesse were a bit baffled to read the review guide. He wrote the review for this very impressive RPG, noting a much improved combat and graphics compared to the previous chapter, in particular. He also pointed out how well the game performed on a variety of devices – Xbox Series X included.
The game supports three different graphics mode on Microsoft’s most powerful console. A Quality Mode at 30 frames per second and higher settings, a Performance Mode at 60fps with lower quality assets, and Balanced Mode as a middle ground at 40. The cheaper and less powerful Xbox, the Series S, does not support Performance Mode, thus no 60 frames per second option there. Bafflingly, the PlayStation 5 was also said not to support said mode – an unusual omission for a console that is similar in power to the Xbox Series X. Is that really the case, though? Does The Outer Worlds 2 not support 60fps on PS5?
The Outer Whoops
Fortunately, this was either a mistake or a work-in-progress chart that never got updated. We were playing the game on Xbox and PC, so we could not check it out ourselves. But the tech wizards over at Digital Foundry did the test, and fortunately the PS5 does, in fact, support Performance Mode at 60fps. The overall performance seems a tad worse than its Xbox Series X counterpart, and the PlayStation 5 Pro version has its share of issues too, but fret not. The Outer Worlds 2 does support 60fps at on PlayStation 5, and indications to the contrary were just a mistake.
I’m honestly glad. Not only because of PlayStation players also getting to enjoy the game at its full potential, but because I didn’t want The Outer Worlds 2 to become just a pawn in the toxic console warring spheres. This is a legitimately great RPG, and I’m happy that this controversy was short-lived. Are you planning to play Obsidian Entertainment’s latest RPG? If so, on which platform? Let us know!
