The Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 launched earlier this week, bringing the next generation of gaming along with it, including Fortnite.
At launch Fortnite was available on both systems, using the previous gen version via backwards compatibility.
Fortnite has seen huge improvements in visual quality on the next gen systems, but unfortunately the frame rate is still locked at 60FPS.
Next Gen Fortnite
Fortnite on the next gen consoles looks stunning, making the world look even more vibrant than before.
Unfortunately the game is still locked at 60FPS regardless of resolution.
The good news is, it can be played at 4K/60FPS if you have a 4K TV/monitor.
120FPS
Recently the official Xbox Wire blog interviewed Ben Woodhouse, lead console programmer at Epic Games, regarding the future of Fortnite on the next generation of consoles.
We already know that Fortnite will be moving over the Epic Games' new Unreal Engine 5 in 2021.
But Ben offered some more insight into what to expect in the future.
"There's definitely more we want to do with the Xbox Series X hardware, both in terms of visuals and reducing latency. We may also look at supporting a 120fps mode in future releases,"
"We added GPU fluid simulations for explosions and smoke and fire effects. These look great in motion and make the effects feel much more natural. We’re also using GPU compute power to simulate physics fields. This allows us to generate shockwaves from grenade and rocket explosions, adding realistic motion to nearby grass and foliage and enhancing the gameplay. We added ray marched volumetric clouds that have real depth. These look beautiful under different dynamic lighting conditions, especially when you’re skydiving through them."
In addition to the game looking beautiful, we have already seen many performance increases.
Split-screen now supports 60FPS, as opposed to 30 on the last gen console, for both Battle Royale and Save The World, even at 4K.
It will be interesting to see whether the 120FPS comes to both Xbox Series X and Playstation 5.
Recently Infinity Ward added 120FPS support for Call Of Duty: Warzone on the Xbox Series X.
However, they didn't add it to the Playstation 5.
The Xbox Series X is marginally better than the PS5 in terms of specs, but perhaps that is enough to determine whether one can do 120FPS and one can't.
Although it seems likely both platforms will receive the update, even if slight graphical changes need to be made.