GTA 6: Here's why 30 FPS on PS5 and Xbox series consoles could disappoint gamers

Rockstar has revealed that GTA 6 runs at a locked 30 FPS on the Sony PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. Seasoned reviewer Hardware Unboxed opines that, while 30 FPS is a compromise the studio has made to keep graphical fidelity high, the low frame rate is a big problem. HU explains that GTA 6 being 30 FPS is an issue from both a visual quality and gameplay standpoint.

From a visual quality perspective, 30 FPS looks “blurrier on modern displays, and less fluid,” per HU. Modern OLED and LCD panels are quite snappy and transition from one frame to the next almost instantaneously. At 30 FPS, each frame persists on the screen for 33.33 ms before the display transitions to the next frame. This looks quite jarring. So, developers use heavy motion blur to mask and smooth out this transition. However, heavy motion blur reduces motion clarity and smears fine visual detail.

We also have to take into account the prevalence of high frame rate displays and content nowadays. It is quite common to see 120 Hz panels on modern smartphones and TVs. A majority of content on platforms like YouTube is also shot at 60 FPS. So, gamers are accustomed to seeing smooth visuals, making the shift down to 30 FPS visuals on GTA 6 even more noticeable

From a gameplay standpoint, a 30 FPS frame rate means that the game will be noticeably choppier, with a healthy dose of input lag. As HU puts it, it makes the gameplay feel “worse”.

Modern gaming consoles have weak CPUs

Now, we have to acknowledge here that Rockstar’s hands are kind of tied in this situation. To make GTA 6 live up to fan expectations, Rockstar had to craft a living world full of NPCs, unique dynamic interactions, and so on. This requires CPU horsepower that the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles lack. Even the PS5 Pro is stuck with a weak CPU based on the old AMD Zen 2 architecture, which is four generations behind the latest AMD CPU architecture.

So, Rockstar had to make a difficult decision to drop 60 FPS ambitions for a locked 30 FPS to ensure a dynamic open world. 

While we’ll have to wait and see how gamers respond to GTA 6 on consoles, one thing is quite clear: GTA 6 will look and play best on PCs.

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