Xbox Series X and S vs Xbox One load times - Do backward compatible games load faster?

Xbox Series X|S vs. Xbox One load times | Do backward compatible games load faster?

Best Answer: All backward compatible games load faster on Xbox Series X|S consoles than they do on the Xbox One. However, results are  mixed as some games see dramatic decreases while others only have a few seconds shaved off.


There’s a lot of high-end technology packed into the Xbox Series X and Series S. One of the biggest features in either console is the SSD, or solid-state-drive, which results in faster load times. New games will be optimized for this technology, but the drive’s high speed also results in reduced load times for backward compatible games. So how do load times compare on the Xbox Series X and S versus the Xbox One? Read on to find out.

How fast do games load on Xbox Series X|S?

How fast do games load on Xbox Series X and S?

Games on the Xbox Series X and Series S load very fast thanks to SSD technology. Numerous reports indicate that recent video game releases from the previous console generation load up to 80 percent faster on the Series X or S when compared to the Xbox One.

Naturally, true load times will vary by software. But the shift to solid-state drives means that effectively all past-generation games will load noticeably quicker than before, with a general 20 percent to 80 percent reduction in load times over last-gen hardware.

Even better, games developed specifically with the Xbox Series X or S in mind will be optimized to use the consoles’ SSD technology. Of course, since those games won’t run on past consoles, there’s no real way to give an accurate comparison of the performance figures versus the previous generation.

The bottom line is this: SSDs load faster than traditional hard disk drives. In fact, they load several magnitudes faster than the old mechanical drives. That’s the main reason they’re featured in the Series X, Series S, and the PlayStation 5. Less time loading means more time spent playing.

How fast do backward compatible Xbox One games load on Xbox Series X|S?

How fast do backward compatible games load on Xbox Series X and S?

Some of the best information we have available on Series X|S load times comes from the folks at TweakTown. Using information compiled from outlets such as Gamespot and The Verge, load times for games like Control, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Destiny 2 on the Series X were compared to load times on Microsoft’s previous-generation console.

The results are impressive. Control’s load time of 58 seconds on the Xbox One dropped down to 10 seconds on the Series X. That’s a reduction of almost 82 percent. Similarly, one of the biggest drops was for Red Dead Redemption 2, whose load time went down from 128 seconds to just 38 seconds — a reduction of about 70 percent. Sea of Thieves lost over a full minute of load time, dropping from 121 seconds to just 20 seconds flat.

Of course, even where improvement was shown, some results were marginal. Call of Duty: Warzone takes 21 seconds to load on the XBO, but only 16 seconds on the Series X. All that extra speed only managed to shave off five seconds total. Similarly, The Evil Within 2 managed to load just 10 seconds faster on Microsoft’s latest console, going from 43 seconds to 33 seconds.

Still, the given data shows improvement all across the board. And don’t think the Series S will be a slouch, either. According to Xbox chief Phil Spencer, the Series S is capable of loading games even faster than the Series X. This is largely due to the fact that the XSS uses lower-resolution textures than those on the high-octane XSX. This effect will be most prominent on backward-compatible titles running at 1080p as opposed to 4K resolution.

How fast do backward compatible Xbox 360 games load?

There’s currently no data available comparing the load times of Xbox 360 games on the Xbox Series X. However, it’s safe to say that games will load much, much faster on the Series X or S when compared to the X360. In some cases, games may load practically instantly.

All things considered, you can expect load times on the Xbox Series X and S to be much faster than the previous generation. Xbox One and Xbox 360 games are likely to have near-instantaneous load times, particularly when running at 1080p. In other words, you won’t have to wait long to jump into your favorite games.

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