The release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard next month will bring something we’ve not seen in AAA game titles in this generation: Visual parity for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, at a 1080p and 60 FPS.
If you’re an Xbox fan, this is a big deal: Since its release in late 2013, the Xbox One has consistently underperformed the PS4 graphically, meaning that Xbox One versions of games almost always run at lower resolutions than the same game on PS4. And at lower frame rates in many cases as well.
Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!
"*" indicates required fields
For the handful of Call of Duty titles I’ve played on both consoles—Black Ops III, Infinite Warfare, and Modern Warfare Remastered—I’ve not actually seen any difference just eyeballing the screen. But game quality comparisons are common on YouTube and on various gaming websites. And Xbox One always loses.
This has led to the embarrassment of Xbox One being unable to play games at 1080p—sometimes called Full HD, with a resolution of 1920 x 1080—while the PS4 often can do so. And while this shortcoming isn’t the reason the Xbox One has fallen far behind the PS4 in this generation of console sales, it’s a contributing factor.
So what’s going on with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard?
According to GamingBolt, the game’s producer, Masachika Kawata, has told them that RE7 will achieve “visual parity” across platforms.
“Kawata confirmed that the game will run at 60 FPS and 1080p on PS4 and Xbox One, both,” the publication explains. “He also confirmed that the game will support HDR on Xbox One S, PS4, and PS4 Pro.”
There’s no explanation for how the game is able to achieve 1080p/60 FPS on Xbox One or visual parity with the PS4 in general; both are rarities for AAA game titles. I suppose part of the reason may simply be that it’s not a particularly fast-moving game, compare to a shooter like those in the COD series. But it’s good news nonetheless. Assuming you’re into horror games, that is.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard arrives on January 24, 2017. Like so many games these days, it will ship in a standard version for $60 and a higher-end deluxe version that includes access to future downloadable content (DLC) for $80.