The Xbox One X will be the most powerful console to ever be released. The custom 2.3GHz 8-core AMD CPU, 12GB GDDR5 RAM and 6 Teraflop GPU all help it deliver true 4K gaming in a simple, standard configuration, for the first time. 3840 × 2160 is a 16:9 resolution, but given many gamers have now shifted to ultra-wide displays of 21:9 aspect ratio, it raises the question, will the Xbox One X be able to support a the newer, wider output ?
There’s been much conjecture online, both on Reddit and in this Xbox Uservoice thread around the topic, so I thought it best to get official clarification from Microsoft, given pre-orders started this week and people are investing their hard earned dollars on the new console.
Here’s Microsoft’s official response.
The aspect ratio for any console within the Xbox One family of devices is 16:9.
This is incredibly disappointing given some gamers have already invested in a new ultrawide display that they intended on using. Looks like we’ll have to wait for another console generation before gaming goes 21:9. In the short term, these users will have to stick with PC gaming for now.
Supporting the wider aspect ratio may seem like a big task and more expensive for developers. While that’s true, many modern games are cross-platform and do support different aspect ratios (16:9, 16:10, 21:9 etc) on PCs. Support for the format would likely never reach 100%, but larger development firms for AAA titles would certainly have no problems addressing it.
The Xbox interface itself is not designed for the ultrawide aspect ratio and would require significant development. Given Microsoft’s push into UWP apps that do scale automatically to different resolutions, this shouldn’t be a big leap to make for the Xbox team.