The wait for new Final Fantasy games on Xbox is over, as you can now play Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox. However, a performance test has revealed that the game isn’t optimized well for Xbox’s powerful consoles, and it’s quite eyebrow-raising how significant the difference is.
The Xbox Games Showcase 2025 finally gave Final Fantasy fans on Xbox something to cheer about. The two Final Fantasy remake games have both been and gone on PS5 and PC, along with FF 16. We know the FF7 Remake is coming to Xbox, but you can buy Final Fantasy 16 on Xbox right now. Only there are some technical issues to consider.
Final Fantasy 16 Xbox Port Has “Significant Issues”
According to Digital Foundry, the Xbox Series port of Final Fantasy 16 isn’t optimized well in terms of graphics and performance. Oliver Mackenzie recently ran through a side-by-side comparison of the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, explaining the differences in quality.
“The graphics mode has some weird problems relative to PS5. Firstly, the Series X is softer and lower resolution. So, in this shot, the PS5 is at 1440p (in Graphics Mode), and the Xbox is at 1224p. That’s a bit of a curious difference. Oftentimes, we don’t see that big of a resolution divergence between the two consoles, and oftentimes it favors the Series X.”
Between the shadows, the foliage, and the general visual aesthetic, the Xbox port looks to be second-best in almost every way.
Mackenzie then broke down the differences in the frame-rate mode, using the initial side-by-side to highlight this: “The PS5 is 1080p, [the] Series X is 720p. It’s consistently lower throughout the shots I tested.”
The Xbox maintains a consistent 60 FPS compared to the variable PS5 performance, but it’s likely coming at the detriment of the Xbox Series X port.
Is this symptomatic of Square Enix’s optimization methods? Or should the Xbox Series X|S version of Final Fantasy 16 be doing better than this? Let us know your thoughts via the Insider Gaming forum.
For more news, check out MindsEye already ending up in clearance sales, and The Witcher 4 aiming for 60 FPS on consoles.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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