Why Dead Space remake runs at lower resolutions on PS5 and Xbox Series X, with no RT on Series S

The Dead Space remake has been slammed for poor optimization on PC. However, the title runs impeccably well on the latest and greatest graphics cards. It might not be the best-looking video game ever released, but the Dead Space remake looks quite good on PC.

However, it turns out that the current-gen consoles cannot run the game at their target resolution of 4K. Both PS5 and Xbox Series X target 1440p 30 FPS for the game in Quality mode.

The weaker Xbox Series S is in an even worse position since the console cannot ray tracing in the video game. These details were confirmed in a detailed side-by-side comparison of the remastered version, done by YouTuber ElAnalistaDeBits.

The developments have led many gamers to question the future of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X since they are reported to be supported for at least another six to seven years.

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Why is the Dead Space remake running at a lower resolution on the PS5 and Xbox Series X?

Almost every major video game release, including the most demanding ones, runs at 4K on the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. The list includes games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Watch Dogs: Legion.

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Expected causes

Thus, the fact that the Dead Space remake runs at a lower resolution is an anomaly that needs to be addressed. There are two major reasons why we don't expect the ninth-generation consoles to run Dead Space Remake well. They are listed below:

1. The new video game is not a cross-gen release. Thus, developers have gone all out with the development, including high-res textures, more detailed character models, and heavy ray tracing implementation.
2. The Dead Space remake has been developed on the Frostbite engine, which is a massive departure from the original engine used. This might have caused complications leading to performance drops.

It is worth noting that the reasons listed above are aided by poor optimization on the developers' part. We have seen GPUs like the RTX 4090 drop below 60 FPS while running the title at 4K. The graphics card handles some of the most demanding titles at over 60 FPS at UHD.

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Console hardware isn't very powerful

In addition, the ninth-generation consoles are not quite powerful, especially when pitched against the increased computing prowess of the latest CPUs and GPUs in the market.

Upon launch, it was estimated that the PS5 GPU is roughly equivalent to an RTX 2070 Super. A performance-segment RTX 3060 levels the Turing-based 70-class GPU by a solid margin. The Lovelace cards take an even larger lead.

The same applies to the Xbox Series X, which reportedly packs a slightly more powerful GPU.

According to estimates, the Xbox Series S packs the equivalent of a GTX 1660. The graphics card barely keeps up with the RTX 3050. In our settings guide, we found out that the 3050 can handle 1440p in the game, but with massive compromises in visual quality.

In addition, the PS5 and Xbox Series X are based on AMD's RDNA 2 architecture. It has been extensively seen that RDNA 2-based RX 6000 series video cards are much inferior in terms of ray tracing performance in video games compared to Nvidia GPUs.

Thus, it is not surprising that the Dead Space remake runs at a lower resolution on modern consoles.