Ghostwire Tokyo‘s recently released Xbox Series X/S version is “quantifiable worse” than its PS5 version, a Digital Foundry analysis concludes. The Tango Gameworks/Bethesda title originally released as a timed PS5 exclusive shortly after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media and all of its properties.
Ghostwire Tokyo PS5 exclusivity lasted one year
As part of its acquisition of ZeniMax Media, Microsoft was obligated to honor existing exclusivity agreements with Bethesda, which included timed PS5 exclusivity deals for Ghostwire Tokyo and Deathloop. However, this also meant that Tango Gameworks had ample time to optimize its game for Xbox Series X/S in preparation for its release on Game Pass.
Among other issues, Digital Foundry says that Ghostwire Tokyo offers lower quality of ray tracing on Xbox Series X, bugged shadow alignments, and lower performance and resolution. Things are worse on Xbox Series S, which the oulet has labeled “a mess.”
This certainly isn’t a good look considering Tango Gameworks has been an Xbox first-party studio since 2021, with Digital Foundry aptly noting that “it’s a really weird situation and not really what you would expect from what is now a Microsoft first-party development studio.”
None of this sounds like anything a couple of patches can’t fix. However, why Ghostwire Tokyo wasn’t properly optimized at launch for Xbox is anyone’s guess.
