Rocket League is one of the titles that’s supposed to get a bit of a boost on the newest consoles. At the end of the year, for example, the sports game will receive a patch on Xbox Series X allowing the game to run at 120 frames per second. For now, PlayStation 5 isn’t due to receive a similar update. Sony’s new console will instead run the backward compatible version of Rocket League at checkerboard 4K and 60FPS–just like PS4. So why isn’t Psyonix’s smash hit getting the same treatment across both of the new consoles? Apparently, it has something to do with the way backward compatibility works on PS5.
In a blog post earlier this week, the studio explained that the upcoming patch on Xbox Series X will add a “Video Quality” setting. The new feature should enable players to select between Quality and Performance options, the former of which will see the title run “at 2688×1512 resolution (70% of full 4K) at 120 FPS with HDR” on Microsoft’s higher end Xbox. Psyonix’s rundown of what to expect from Rocket League on PS5 featured no such update details. When asked for clarification by Push Square, the studio’s Senior Communications Manager, Stephanie Thoensen, divulged the following,
Right now we have nothing further to share on additional PS5 plans, but can shed some more light on the why. Our team’s main focus this year was our recent free-to-play transition, and updating major features like our Tournaments system. Due to this we had to make tough decisions on what else we could achieve. Enabling 120hz on Xbox Series X|S is a minor patch, but enabling it on PS5 requires a full native port due to how backwards compatibility is implemented on the console, and unfortunately wasn’t possible due to our focus elsewhere.
It would appear, then, that enabling 120FPS on Series X requires a relatively easy-to-develop patch. Meanwhile, getting the feature to run on PS5 would take comparatively herculean efforts, which Psyonix doesn’t exactly have the time to tackle at present. Whether or not this will change down the line remains unknown.
[Source: Psyonix via Push Square]
