Star Wars Jedi Survivor PS4 and Xbox One Disastrous Performance Proves We Should Leave Last Generation Behind

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Launched on last-gen hardware to mixed results, with issues like poor pop-in and low framerates, especially during cutscenes, plugging the port. While dedicated Star Wars Fans with older hardware will finally get a chance to play it, the PS4 and Xbox One port bringing into question the necessity of additional catering A console generation that started all the way back in 2013. This isn’t the first time a current-gen game has been ported to last-gen hardware, but it feels like the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Messy launch on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC should have indicated that a last-gen port was pointless, and yet it’s here in all its middling glory. Unfortunately, this is a frustrating trend, with last-gen titles being ported to the latestSuch as God of War: Ragnarok And Hogwarts legacyWith significant sacrifices, in order to do the work. But, if Jedi: Survivor Less-than-stellar last-gen debut proves something, it’s that the ports need to stop, and developers should pour all their focus into making games exclusively for next-gen consoles.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s last-gen ports aren’t great

They suffer from low framerates and resolutions

The last-gen ports of Star Wars Jedi: SurvivorWhich were released on PS4, Xbox One, PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, launched to mixed reviews thanks to their poor overall performance. naturally, To get the next-gen title running on last-gen hardware, sacrifices had to be madeIncluding dropping the resolution down to 1280 x 720 on PS4 and 1024 x 526 on Xbox One. This, among the many other changes made to the port, dramatically reduced the overall download size from 150 GB on the PS5 to 50 GB on all last-gen consoles, a drop that is telling of the quality of the port.

The last-gen ports struggle to render the in-engine cutscenes, often stuttering, failing to sync animations and even pausing, which makes enjoying the story impossible during certain sequences. The load time has increased between the PS4 and PS5 versions, for example, Loading in Koboh takes 10 seconds on PS5 but 2 minutes on PS4. That’s not even mentioning the distracting pop-in, reduced texture quality and overall amount of assets in the open world, and the fact that players will need to wait at doors while loading the interior, all of which is brilliantly documented. in Digital Foundrys review.

While a lot of this is better on the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X models, it’s not a dramatic improvement. This is not to say that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Looks bad on PS4 or Xbox One, because the title still looks incredible despite the setbacks, and the gameplay fundamentals are not impacted, as they remain just as impressive with all the physics and effects retained. however, The pared-back version brings into question the point of it allEspecially considering the amount of effort that must have gone into port and how bad Jedi: Survivor Struggled at launch.

Last generation ports take too much development time

They’re just not worth it anymore

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on April 28, 2023, but its last-gen port didn’t launch until over a year later, on September 17, 2024. Getting survivors To run on the PS4 and Xbox One would have taken a considerable amount of timeVisible in all the cutbacks made, and yet it still does not run particularly well. Undoubtedly, EA will have to commit even more resources to updating the last-gen versions, much like it did with the original next-gen release, taking up more development time that could be better spent elsewhere.

Considering Star Wars Jedi: Survivor’s Sequel is in the works, It is difficult to imagine that creating a mediocre port for a console generation that ended in 2020 is a more worthwhile investment than allocating the resources spent on other projects.. Jedi: Survivor is not an isolated incident, as several next-gen titles also have a last-gen port, with notable examples Horizon Forbidden West, God of War: RagnarokAnd Hogwarts legacy. The latter was also released on the Nintendo Switch, although it had to drastically change the fundamentals of its design, including removing the seamless aspect of its open world.

The sacrifices made to get next-gen games running on last-gen hardware aren’t benefiting anyone – Another from the publisher’s box. Either the last-gen players have to experience a much worse and potentially broken version, or the next-gen players get a last-gen feeling experience so that the developers have less effort to port to PS4 and Xbox One. Ever since the PS5 came out, people have complained that there aren’t enough exclusive next-gen titles, or games that really make the most of the next-gen hardware.

The latest port issue is obviously quite nuanced

Many people are still stuck on last-gen consoles

Of course, the issue surrounding the latest ports is extremely nuanced and complicated, which makes it all the more frustrating. Last-gen ports are still happening because, By 2023, the active install base of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S had not surpassed the last-gen hardwareMeaning it’s only recently that more people are playing on next-gen consoles than the last. Additionally, according to research conducted by UndeadIt predicts that in 2025 there will still be 25% of players using the latest consoles.

There are several reasons why this is the case, with the first being The post-COVID world that the next-gen consoles launched in, with consoles initially being incredibly difficult to buy. This has led to more games being added to the latest consoles, such as God of War: RagnarokIn an attempt to cater to the larger player base. Additionally, analyst James McWhirter explained to Game developer that “In the first half of the PS5 cycle […] PS5 adoption outpaced the decline of active PS4 systems,“And that by the beginning of 2023, 30% of people on PS5 didn’t own a PS4.

This indicates that, at least in the initial period of the PS5’s release, a large portion of PS4 users are happy to stick with their last-gen hardware. This was likely due to the aforementioned post-Covid factors, but also due to live-service games such as Fortnite, GTA online, Future 2, Apex LegendsAnd Genshin ImpactNo need for a graphical upgrade on next-gen hardware. There simply wasn’t a reason for players to invest several hundred dollars just to keep playing the same games On latest-gen hardware.

With no next-gen live service titles forcing players to move on from their aging hardware, and few next-gen single-player experiences that were exclusive to PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, it’s no surprise that players are Stuck to their older consoles. It is not a surprise that developers continue to invest in the last-gen ports, as it was for a while, where a large part of its revenue would come from. however, The time and effort that went into producing ports for the latest generation hardware took away from time that could have been spent creating compelling reasons to finally jump ship.

Last-gen ports need to stop so current-gen consoles can flourish

We need more games like Space Marine 2

It’s hard not to feel like the current consoles are getting startedWith titles like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Finally proving what a truly next-gen video game can look like. It’s not that previous PS5 and Xbox Series X/S titles didn’t look good, either God of War: Ragnarok And Horizon Forbidden West Both look incredible, but more than ever developers don’t seem to be using the hardware to its full potential. This may be due to the need to have games work on both latest and new-gen hardware to accommodate the existing audience and the growing one.

Fortunately, it seems like this trend is dying out somewhat. in 2025 Assassin’s Creed: Shadows Will be the first Assassin’s Creed Game to release exclusively for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, rather than older consoles. so too, Star Wars: Outlaws And Avatar: Frontier of Pandora are only released on next-gen consoles. Black Myth: Wukong was a triumphant display of the potential of next-generation graphics, and The fact that both Prohibition West And Cyberpunk 2077 Opting to make their DLC next-gen exclusive so they can fulfill their visions is great.

While it’s a shame it’s taken so long for this generation of games to start, it finally feels like it’s here, with Jedi: Survivor Last-gen port acting as the final nail in the coffin. It is understandable why the gaming industry has taken so long to get to this point, with the situation surrounding the latest consoles being much more nuanced than many may know. however, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Should be the latest attempt at catering to a dwindling player base, if only so that the game industry can finally begin its journey into the potential of next-generation gaming onboard.

Sources: Digital Foundry, Undead, Game developer