PS5 and Xbox Series X will both be 'awesome' for Unreal Engine 5

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Xbox Series X won't miss out on Unreal Engine 5 performance

unreal engine 5
(Image credit: Epic Games)

The PS5 and Xbox Series X should be equally impressive when it comes to Unreal Engine 5 performance. That's according to Epic Games co-founder and CEO Tim Sweeney who took to Twitter to explain why last week’s Unreal Engine 5 demo was run on Sony’s next-generation console. 

The Unreal Engine 5 demo was used to showcase the power of the next-generation games consoles, but it was only shown off running on the PS5 and not the Xbox Series X. This ignited a slew of speculation as to whether the PS5 was selected to demo the graphics engine because it’s more capable than the Xbox Series X. 

While the Xbox Series X does have more compute power than the PS5, with its 12 teraflops to the Sony console’s 10.28 teraflops, a lot of console performance is down to how that power can be brought to bear. We’ve previously heard some developers claim that the PS5 and its speedy SSD storage means its easier to tap into the console’s power than the Xbox Series X; though we’ve also heard similarly high praise for the Xbox Series X.

The performance throughput of the PS5 is one of the reasons some people thought it was selected to run the Unreal Engine 5 demo rather than the Xbox Series X. This speculation wasn’t helped by the demo not mentioning the Xbox Series X at all. 

But Sweeney tweeted that the decision to go with the PS5 for the demo was down to Epic’s close work with Sony, not because of the PS5 trounces the Xbox Series X on performance. 

“The Unreal Engine 5 demo on PlayStation 5 was the culmination of years of discussions between Sony and Epic on future graphics and storage architectures,” Sweeney tweeted. 

And he then added that the Unreal Engine 5 will also be supported on the Xbox Series X and that we can expect it to be pretty impressive on Microsoft’s hardware: “The Nanite and Lumen tech powering it will be fully supported on both PS5 and Xbox Series X and will be awesome on both.”

For PC fans, Sweeney also tweeted that the Unreal Engine 5 will also play well with high-end computers. Then in a burst of sly humour, he noted that the “Commodore 64 will not be supported,” presumably in reference as to how the Unreal Engines of the past have run across a wide range of platforms and will continue to do so.

We still have a good six months to wait until the PS5 and Xbox Series X are released. So there’s still plenty of time for more speculation as to which one will come out on top in the performance stakes and indeed the overall next-generation console war.

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Roland Moore-Colyer
Roland Moore-Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face. 

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • Fleet33
    "easier to tap into the console’s power"

    Don't like these phrases or any use of "power" as if it's something special that can't be explained/measured. Point being, the Xbox Series X has more computing performance than the PS5 based off the specs alone. That's just the facts. SSD alone isn't going to raise the frames on the PS5, let's stop the damage control.

    The fact that the Xbox Series X is running at a locked speed is great news because it should be able to handle the temps without downclocking if cooling is an issue.

    Unlike the PS5 with it's variable clocks isn't good news, along with the SSD speed could still vary. Also without the actual PS5 console hardware still unreleased nearly 6 months after Xbox revealed their hardware, and the fact that this PS5 is to be released in about 5 months (holiday season) is troublesome.

    The PS5 may have had some cooling issues or they're revising the case in time for launch. With SONY limiting production could point to a limited amount of units to control the amount of possibly overheating units early on. Why else give up the fight for the initial lead in sales? Costs for the price of the console can be made through more units sold over time as the high amount of early sales could spread the marketshare. More profits in service/software can help dampen the initial costs of the 1st 10 million units.
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