Google Tensor G5 shows mixed results in new Pixel 10 Pro XL gaming test

Google's new Pixel 10 series comes with a handful of upgrades over the last-gen lineup, and the Tensor G5 is one of them. As Google has unveiled earlier in August 2025, it's the company's first-ever 3 nm smartphone chip, which, compared to the predecessor, should offer a noticeable power efficiency jump.

The brand-new SoC also comes with the PowerVR D-Series DXT-48-1536 GPU, and according to a recent stress test with the Pixel 10 Pro XL, it can offer impressive stability. However, the synthetic benchmark result doesn't appear to reflect well in terms of real-world gaming tests.

A new video tests the Tensor G5 of the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL by running multiple popular games on the phone, and per the video, the gaming performance is not as impressive as the synthetic benchmark. Of course, some of the games that were tested in the video ran reasonably well.

For example, the Pixel 10 Pro XL was shown to run Valorant Mobile with an average FPS of 60 in the High graphics setting, and the device was able to hold the same average FPS on PUBG Mobile with the "Smooth + Extreme" preset. On Genshin Impact, however, the phone wasn't able to maintain a smooth frame rate.

To be specific, the average was at 29 FPS with the "Highest" preset. The story is pretty similar for the Wuthering Waves, which ran with an average of 44 FPS at the highest visual settings on Pixel 10 Pro XL. The most disappointing gaming performance was seen while running Fortnite on the Tensor G5.

There were very noticeable frame drops and stuttering, and the average frame rate during the 25-minute session was 25 FPS with the "Epic" preset. Moreover, while running Fortnite, the peak temperature of the device went up to 42.9° C. In the other games, in comparison, the peak temperature was around 42° C or lower. So, it's possible that the SoC was throttling during the last session.

Of course, given that the Pixel 10 series just became available (order on Amazon and get a free $200 gift card), it's highly likely that the gaming performance on the Tensor G5 will improve with future updates. Check out the videos below to learn more about how the SoC holds up at its current stage.