According to Microsoft’s spec sheet on the Xbox Series S, the console only has 10GB of GDDR6, 8GB of which runs at 224GB / s, while the remaining 2GB runs at 56GB / s. By comparison, the Xbox Series X (the more powerful next-gen console model) has 16GB of GDDR6, 10GB of which runs at 560GB / s, and 6GB at 336GB / s. Microsoft explains this huge difference because the Xbox Series S is designed to play games at 1440p, not 4K or 8K. Nevertheless, the developers are clearly not happy with the presence of such a weak console on the market.

The memory situation is assessed by the chief programmer of the engine Axel Gneiting as problematic. He reckons the Xbox Series S’s slow memory will be hard to compensate for.

“Very disappointed with this RAM situation on the Series S,” wrote Gneiting. – Its disadvantage will not be easy to compensate, and it greatly reduces the base characteristics for the next generation multiplatform. The increase in RAM was already small compared to the previous generation, but in this case, it is practically nonexistent. Ray tracing also needs a lot of memory. “

He also mentioned the main argument for gamers that developers already take into account the weak PC specifications. “″ [Graphics] is always configurable on the PC ″ is bullshit. Every AAA game has had a single build over the last decade or so and has been made to run at minimum specs, ”wrote Gneiting.

The developer added that the minimum specification matters, because the more powerful the worst hardware, the better the graphics can be done in the game in principle.

Also “it always scaled on PC” is nonsense. Every AAA game in the past decade or so has their assets made once so they run on min spec. Increasing sample counts a bit here and there for high settings isn’t what you could truly have done with more power. Min spec matters.

– Axel Gneiting (@axelgneiting) September 10, 2020

However, Dustin Land, senior programmer at id Software, is more positive. “S is significantly weaker than X (4 versus 12.5 teraflops / 20 versus 52 compute units), but still much more powerful than the base One,” he wrote. ” This is a good option for Xbox exclusives if you’re buying a PS5 and don’t want to buy a second expensive console. “

The S is significantly nerfed compared to X (4 vs 12.5 TFLOPS / 20 vs 52 CU) but still much beefier than a base One.

It’s a good option for Xbox exclusives if you buy a PS5 and don’t want to buy another expensive console. https://t.co/lSpADH4YN3

– Dustin Land (@DustinHLand) September 10, 2020

To this, id Software’s lead programmer, Billy Khan, replied, “The memory situation is a big problem S. Significantly less memory and shared memory banks at significantly slower speeds would be a major problem. Aggressively lowering the rendering resolution will help a little, but will not completely fix the problem. “

Xbox Series S will go on sale on November 10 alongside Xbox Series X.