False Facts About The Series S You Shouldn't Believe

When Microsoft introduced the Xbox Series S, it stepped out into some uncharted territory. Sure, game consoles have received updates in the past — both Sony and Microsoft, in fact, issued mid-cycle refreshes in the last generation. Putting out two entirely different boxes, though? Both with widely differing degrees of power? That was pretty new. And what made it more wild was how Microsoft insisted everything would be totally cool — the Series S and Series X could definitely co-exist side by side.

It's still too early to tell whether or not that'll hold true. Perhaps, as time goes on, both systems will settle into their respective slots and deliver solid gaming experiences. In the meantime, if you're in the market for a new machine and are thinking about picking up an Xbox Series S, here are some false facts about it you shouldn't believe.

Part of what made the Xbox Series S so intriguing was the way Microsoft sold the console's feature set. The company essentially said the Xbox Series S was just like an Xbox Series X, only targeting a resolution of 1440p versus the Series X's 4K. Perhaps you can understand why this had people excited. A 1440p, 60 frames-per-second machine for $300? That's a pretty solid deal, right?

Unfortunately, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

Gamers got a rude awakening when Assassin's Creed: Valhalla launched for both the Xbox Series X and Series S. The higher-end Series X targeted 4K and 60 frames-per-second in the title, really delivering on that next-gen experience. The Xbox Series S, on the other hand, did stay true to its 1440p promise, but only managed to deliver 30 frames-per-second.

The upcoming Devil May Cry 5 is another example where the Xbox Series S version of a game will get shortchanged when compared to the Series X version. On the Xbox Series X, players will see ray tracing fully implemented. Series S owners, sadly, won't get any ray tracing at all.

One of the fears that came with Microsoft releasing two next-gen consoles was this: the budget option would hold the premium option back. Some believed that the existence of an Xbox Series S would cause developers to target that hardware spec, and lead to them not pushing the Xbox Series X as far as it could go. So far, that doesn't appear to be the case.

In fact, you can take a look at Assassin's Creed: Valhalla and Devil May Cry 5 as two examples of that theory being debunked. These two titles have truly groundbreaking Series X versions while also having inferior Series S versions. In these two cases, developers didn't simply push the Xbox Series S build of the game to the Xbox Series X and call it a day. The Series X versions have features the Series S versions do not, flexing the capabilities of that more powerful machine.

If anything, it almost seems as though the existence of the Xbox Series X is doing more harm to the Series S than the other way around. The Series S isn't getting those finer optimizations so it can truly be a "mini" take on the Series X. In Valhalla and DMC5, at least, the Series S is getting the short end of the stick.