It is widely accepted that Microsoft’s Xbox Series X console is the most powerful ever made, so why do some games run better on Sony’s PlayStation 5? That’s a question finally answered by the tech experts at Digital Foundry.

Both Microsoft and Sony launched the next-generation of consoles at the same time, November 2020, and while the less powerful Xbox Series S obviously struggles on the performance front, the Xbox Series X is a tech monster; it’s capable of 12 teraflops of GPU performance, whereas the PS5 is capable of 10.28 teraflops.

Xbox executives have said they wanted to avoid repeating the narrative established in the last generation, where the Xbox One was significantly underpowered compared to the PlayStation 4 resulting in a mismatch when it came to multiplatform game performance. And so, Microsoft went hard with the Xbox Series X, ensuring it could safely call it he “world’s most powerful console” in marketing.

But now, as we approach each console’s fourth birthday, has that power difference born fruit in the video games we play? It turns out that some games run better on PS5 than Xbox Series X. But how can that be?

According to Digital Foundry’s conversations with developers, “the combination of a more efficient GPU compiler, lower-level APIs, and higher clock speeds allows PS5 to match or even exceed the outputs of Xbox Series X in some scenarios.”

One example of this at play is FromSoftware’s Elden Ring, which runs faster on PS5 than on Xbox Series X. Digital Foundry’s analysis of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC shows a surprising frame-rate difference in favor of PS5, which is apparently the less capable machine.

But, as Digital Foundry notes, there remains value in the approach Microsoft took for Xbox Series X, which has a commonality with PC development that helps game makers. “Additionally, there are situations where the Xbox ecosystem and feature set yields dividends,” Digital Foundry explains. “For example, while Elden Ring may run faster on PS5, Sony’s limited implementation of variable refresh rate support means that we’d much rather play the game on Xbox Series X — it’s just a smoother and more consistent experience.”

So, what happens next? Sony is heavily rumored to be ready to release a PS5 Pro later this year, with Microsoft heavily rumored to be ready to release an Xbox handheld. Digital Foundry expects the PS5 Pro to “lean into the same strengths that made PS5 competitive and go beyond — PSSR machine learning-based upscaling should act as an effective ‘multiplier’ of sorts on its increased GPU performance.”

And then? No doubt we’ll have to do this all over again when Microsoft releases its next-gen Xbox and Sony releases the inevitable PS6.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

After unexpectedly teasing the game last week, Capcom has shared new details on Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, confirming among other things that it will release on September 18, 2024.

Saying “it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call this game a remake,” developer Rysosuke Murai said the new release will run in 4K 60fps on the RE Engine, and will include quality-of-life improvements like the ability to move while aiming, as well as improvements to NPC behavior.

Capcom has also “fine-tuned the interface” and added autosave functionality, and the story will be fully-voiced in nine languages.

In addition to the standard edition, Capcom is planning to release a digital deluxe edition that will include additional costumes and mall background music. A physical release is set for November 2024.

Dead Rising returns

Though it has been years since a new Dead Rising game was developed, the franchise’s return seemed possible. In early February, Capcom posted a “Super Elections” survey on its website, asking players if they would like a sequel or spin-off to its dormant franchises, such as Dead Rising, Okami, and Dino Crisis.

Dead Rising was originally released in 2006 and quickly became among the more desirable games available exclusively on the Xbox 360. The franchise ushered in a new franchise for Capcom during the late 2000s and 2010s, including three sequels.

The most recent entry in the franchise before the announcement of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster was Dead Rising 4, released in 2016 for Xbox One and PC before a PS4 port titled Frank’s Big Package was released a year later. Dead Rising 4 was met with mixed reception and was reported to have underperformed sales-wise.

The poor sales performance of Dead Rising 4 led to the cancellation of a new Dead Rising game, in addition to the closing of Capcom Vancouver (formerly Blue Castle Games), which developed Dead Rising games, starting in 2010 with the Dead Rising 2 prequel Case Zero.

In our review of Dead Rising, IGN wrote: “Though Dead Rising may seem like a simple, mindless game when you first pick it up, it eventually reveals itself as a deeper experience. Tons of extras are packed into Willamette’s shops, there are magazine power-ups and special drink mixes to be brewed, lots of clothing combinations, countless pictures to be taken and plenty of NPCs to be saved.”

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

The Elden Ring community’s favorite folk hero, Let Me Solo Her, has finally completed the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, after a streaming marathon spanning multiple days during which he struggled repeatedly against the DLC’s final boss.

Warning: Spoilers for the ending of Shadow of the Erdtree follow below!

The Final boss is kicking my butt rn pic.twitter.com/nf4htyip9T

— Let me solo her (@TsuboiKlein) June 29, 2024

Tsuboi Klein, also known as Let Me Solo Her, has been steadily working his way through the new Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree with the rest of us. Just yesterday, he finally crossed the finish line, defeating Promised Consort Radahn live on stream after something in the vicinity of 74 attempts. Despite being thought of as something of an Elden Ring expert, Let Me Solo Her really struggled with the second coming of Radahn, only defeating him after several hours of attempts spaced out over two days.

“Holy crap, my fingers are actually trembling right now,” he said upon victory. “I’m shaking.”

Let Me Solo Her rose to notoriety by offering his summon sign to players struggling to beat the most difficult boss in the base game, Malenia. Wearing nothing more than a pot on his head, Let Me Solo Her has defeated Malenia hundreds of times now on behalf of others. While it might be natural to expect him to breeze through the DLC with skills like that, it’s worth noting that Let Me Solo Her got so good at Malenia by practicing her fight a lot. It took him over 200 attempts just to beat her the first time. So it’s only natural he’d get good at Radahn with practice, too.

So is Let Me Solo Her going to master Radahn and help others defeat him now? Probably not just yet. Let Me Solo Her acknowledged at the end of his stream that he had somewhat beelined his way to Radahn and hadn’t finished a lot of the other DLC boss fights, so he wants to go back and wrap things up first. He also wants to enjoy the DLC a bit off-stream, too, just for himself. Additionally, he’s already been spending his time helping others beat Messmer, another story-required boss fight that many are struggling with. He’s even technically rebranded as “Let Me Solo Him” just for that fight. Let Me Solo Her will continue to assist other players with Messmer for a bit longer, he says, before moving on to helping people with Radahn.

I BEAT THE FINAL BOSS LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/XUxVmAUitB

— Let me solo her (@TsuboiKlein) June 29, 2024

We interviewed Let Me Solo Her two years ago during the height of his fame, and can confirm that he’s delightful not just in battle against Malenia and Radahn, but also to speak with. And we caught up with him again ahead of the release of Shadow of the Erdtree to hear his plans for exploring the Land of Shadow. Sounds like that’s going great for him.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Scientists, the original nerd, occasionally like to remind us of that fact by influencing the real world with a geeky reference, this time with a spider named after a flying beastie from Monster Hunter.

As reported by VG247, a newly discovered spider from China has been named the Otacilia Khezu after Khezu, the flying wyvern from Monster Hunter. What do spiders and flying wyverns have in common? Nothing, really, but this spider has no eyes, just like its namesake.

Khezu, which look like fairly normal wyverns from the shoulders down but quickly break that tradition with incredibly long necks, a giant fanged mouth, and retracted eyes due to spending most of their time in darkness, were introduced way back in the original Monster Hunter from 2004.