Microsoft is giving developers more freedom in how memory is used on the Xbox Series S.
According to reports edge (opens in new tab)a new Xbox software development kit has been released that frees up extra memory for the Xbox Series S and can boost graphics performance for some games.
In a video detailing the new features of the Game Development Kit for June 2022, Microsoft said that “Xbox Series S developers can now use hundreds of megabytes of additional memory. This gives developers more control over memory, which increases Graphics performance in memory-constrained conditions.”
Compared to its big brother, the Series X, the Xbox Series S is significantly cheaper and can run the same games, but usually at a lower 1080p resolution. In addition to adding GPU power, the more expensive model comes with 16 GB of RAM, while the Series S has only 10 GB. But developers only have about 8 GB of memory to work with, as the rest is reserved for the console’s operating system.
While Microsoft didn’t specify how many megabytes have been freed, the news is certainly welcome news for developers who are having trouble optimizing their Xbox Series S games. DF Direct Weekly (opens in new tab) Back in May, Digital Foundry revealed that the console’s limited memory was more of a problem for developers than the performance degradation of its GPU.
Additionally, Microsoft says it has fixed an issue where “graphics virtual addresses are assigned significantly slower than non-graphics virtual addresses.” This means that games can now take better advantage of the recent memory enhancements that Microsoft has included in its Xbox development kit.
The launch time for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S consoles has recently been reduced slightly, allowing players to get into the action quicker. This faster launch is currently only available to Xbox Insiders, but is expected to roll out to all Xbox fans sometime in the near future.
Get the most out of Microsoft’s latest console with our guide The best Xbox Series X games.
