4K won’t be mandatory for Xbox Scorpio games

It seems that while Xbox Scorpio has been built specifically for 4K gaming, developers will not be forced to make their titles output in 4K.

Scorpio is a 6 teraflop gaming machine, which will be a great gaming machine for true 4K gaming, giving you a native 4K frame buffer so you can see games in all their beauty,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer said, as reported by Videogamer. "Or if developers want to use those 6 teraflops in other ways they’re free to do that."

That strategy would be in line with Sony, if reports about PS4 Neo communications to developers are to be believed.

However, the news does seem a little at odds with Spencer’s earlier comments in which he claimed that there was no reason for owners of 1080p TVs to upgrade to Scorpio, recommending instead that they opt for the new Xbox One S.

So too does it clash with comments in which he said that the reason Scorpio will launch in 2017 and not in 2016 was so that Microsoft has the time it needs to build a dedicated 4K machine.

Microsoft’s messaging about the Xbox One S has had an air of confusion about it, too, with the company having to come out and deny claims from Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition that the new machine will run some games better than existing Xbox One hardware.