Fallout 4's Latest DLC Runs Better on Xbox One Than PS4 - Report

After reports emerged about Fallout 4 frame rate issues for the new Far Harbor expansion, Digital Foundry has published a technical analysis of the add-on that further expands on the issues.

According to the site, after the 1.6 patch, the game's new area runs at 20fps, but sometimes it can be worse than that. If you're playing on console, the Xbox One edition is having a smoother experience right now, apparently.

"As things stand, PS4's current performance profile sees the Far Harbor region present one of the most sluggish regions in the game, while Xbox One consistently runs at a higher refresh," Digital Foundry said.

As suspected, the culprit appears to be Far Harbor's new fog effects. Fallout 4 overall aims to run at 30fps on console, but in the new Far Harbor region, the PS4 edition never gets above 20fps and can even drop to 15fps for some sequences, the site said.

"It's a thick layer of alpha transparency effects causing the issue, making any real-time targeting hugely difficult, something we noticed during an early woodland mission with ally Old Longfellow," according to the report. "Xbox One suffers fluctuations up and down the scale and is far from ideal, but it's certainly Sony's machine that struggles most right now."

Gallery

The Xbox One version of Fallout 4's Far Harbor expansion is not without its problems, too. Digital Foundry said the game locked up while playing missions needed to unlock the expansion, while some stuttering problems from launch have not been addressed.

You can read the full Digital Foundry breakdown here. Note that this is a console comparison only.

Last week, after reports about Fallout 4 Far Habor's frame rate issues popped up, Bethesda said it was "actively working" to improve performance. "We made optimizations based on the Far Harbor beta feedback, but understand some people are experiencing issues," Bethesda said at the time. "We are actively working on more improvements."

Far Harbor, which came out on May 19, is Fallout 4's third paid expansion, following Automatron (March; $10) and Wasteland Workshop (April; $5). It sells for $25 on its own, and is also included with the $50 Fallout 4 DLC pass.

Bethesda has told fans to "stay tuned" for even more Fallout 4 DLC coming this year. Whatever it is, DLC pass owners will get it at no extra cost.

In other news about Fallout 4, mods made on PC will be playable on Xbox One starting tomorrow, May 31.

For more on Far Harbor, which represents the largest landmass Bethesda has ever made for an expansion, watch GameSpot's review above or read our written review.