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Games That Run Better On Xbox Than The PS5

With both the Xbox Series X|S and the PlayStation 5 officially here, the next generation of gaming has arrived. Despite a few embarrassing launch day incidents, both systems have generally earned praise from critics and have largely delivered on the promises made by Microsoft and Sony. That means there's only one thing left to determine — whether games run better on the Series X|S or the PlayStation 5.

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One of the big things that both console manufacturers promised to improve was the out-of-control loading speeds that plagued the last generation. The new SSDs included in both consoles have already demonstrated that they can reduce load times, but which one works better? Another thing to consider is how the new consoles will handle new technologies, such as 4K displays and innovative techniques like raytracing.

Let's take a look at some of the titles that gamers and critics have already spent time with on both systems to figure out which games run better on the Xbox Series X than on the PlayStation 5.

Call of Duty: Warzone runs at a higher frame rate on the Series X

Call of Duty: Warzone is gearing up for some significant changes that will arrive alongside Season 1 of Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War. However, one significant change came when the game became available on the Series X, when it debuted 120 FPS capabilities on Microsoft's new console.

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The increased frame rates give the Series X version of Warzone a clear advantage over the PlayStation 5. What's interesting about this improvement was how quietly both Infinity Ward and Microsoft rolled it out. Infinity Ward didn't point out the new frame maximum in the patch notes for the update that came the day before the Series X, and Microsoft didn't announce it, either. However, it is featured on Microsoft's store listing for Warzone.

Instead, the option was first noticed by users on Reddit and later confirmed by Digital Foundry. If peak Warzone performance is a priority for you, then the Series X has the edge over the PlayStation 5.

Destiny 2 loads much faster on the Series X

PlayStation 5 testers have already used Destiny 2, a notoriously slow-loading game, as a benchmark for how much the new console has improved wait times from the PlayStation 4. While the PlayStation 5's SSD does nearly cut load times on Sony's new console in half, the Xbox Series X does even better.

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Testers for GameSpot fired up Destiny 2 on both consoles to see which one could get players into the sci-fi loot shooter faster. Times from menu to character screen showed a huge advantage for the Series X. The PlayStation 5 clocked in at 0:50, which was right in line with what other testers observed. However, the Series X achieved that in around two thirds of the PS5's time, taking only 34 seconds to perform the same function.

One of the biggest problems with Destiny 2's out-of-control load times was trying to move from place to place in the game. On the PlayStation 5, GameSpot found that going from Orbit to a Tower still takes the better part of a minute, clocking the load time at 0:46. On the Series X, that time is down to a more manageable 0:37.

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Rocket League gets a big Series X-only upgrade

As the PlayStation 5 and Series X neared their arrival dates, many of the impending hardware improvements sounded similar. SSDs, 4K support, and improved framerates were expected from both, leaving casual gamers to wonder what the real differences would be.

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Now that the consoles have arrived, developers have opened up about the challenges of developing for either system. Rocket League developer Psyonix told Eurogamer that the PS5 hardware makes adapting their flagship game for higher framerates much harder than on the Series X.

On the Series X, improving frame rates is a "minor patch," whereas on the PS5, it "requires a full native port." Psyonix was unable to dedicate the resources to upgrade the PS5 version, and for this reason, only the Series X edition of Rocket League will receive a full suite of next-generation upgrades. 

These upgrades include two modes: Quality and Performance. In Quality mode, Rocket League runs at 4K at 60 FPS with HDR. In Performance mode, the game displays at 120 FPS at a maximum of 70% of 4K resolution, again with HDR. The PS5 version of Rocket League will only have the equivalent of Quality mode available.

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