Saber Interactive’s upcoming cooperative shooter Turok: Origins will hit 60 frames per second on most platforms but not on the Xbox Series S. Speaking at Gamescom 2025, Game Director Jesús Iglesias explained that the smaller Xbox simply couldn’t sustain the higher frame rate, forcing the team to cap it at 30 FPS.

Why Xbox Series S performance lags behind

The decision isn’t unique to Turok: Origins. Many developers have voiced frustration with the Series S hardware limits, which include:

• 10GB of memory versus 16GB on the Series X
• Just 20 Compute Units compared to 52 on the Series X
• 4 teraflops of GPU power versus over 12 on the Series X

Those differences make optimization tough. Iglesias admitted the team tried to find a way to match the performance of its bigger sibling but couldn’t.

Turok: Origins still delivers on other platforms

Players on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X will enjoy 60 FPS gameplay, while PC performance details are still pending. The game is built on Unreal Engine 5, but it’s not an open-world showcase. Instead, it’s a round-based cooperative shooter with linear levels, mixing first- and third-person combat against alien creatures.

Series S debate continues

The Series S was pitched as an affordable entry point into next-gen gaming, but its lower specs have repeatedly caused challenges for studios. Developers argue that Microsoft’s insistence on parity between Series S and X makes their jobs harder. Even with those struggles, the cheaper console hasn’t significantly boosted Xbox sales.

No release date yet

Saber Interactive is self-publishing Turok: Origins, and while it has no firm release window yet, the developer is confident about the experience on higher-end hardware. For Series S players, though, 30 FPS will be the ceiling.

The question remains whether Microsoft’s budget console is holding back developers—or if it’s just the price of making next-gen gaming more accessible.