Samsung is pushing for the Xbox Series X to support ultrawide monitors
Could we get ultrawide console gaming?
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One of the most exciting things aboutPC gamingin 2020 is the wide swath of choices in the way you play your games, and it sounds likeSamsungis pushingMicrosoftto bring at least one aspect of that over to theXbox Series X.
Samsung recently talked to the folks over atPCGamesNand told them that it’s talking with Microsoft and pushing the gaming behemoth to adopt ultrawide support for the Xbox Series X.
Obviously, current-generation consoles don’t currently have this compatibility as both theXbox One XandPS4 Proare limited to 16:9 resolutions, peaking at4K. That sounds pretty rad, but there’s a whole world of fancy displays that these consoles just can’t handle.
Now, folks can stilltechnicallyplay Xbox One orPS4 gameson one of thebest ultrawide monitors- nothing is stopping them from doing so today. But because both consoles output a 16:9 signal, you simply get these ugly black bars on either side of the display. If Samsung is able to push Microsoft to adopt compatibility for more unconventional aspect ratios, we could see console games with the option to render in a more immersive resolution.
It’s unlikely that this will actually happen, of course, butif it didit would be great news for folks that already have one of these monitors. At the end of the day, though, we know very little about what the next generation consoles will be able to do.
We’re going to speculate anyway
No matter how awesome it would be if ultrawide resolutions were supported on the Xbox Series X, we’re definitely skeptical. Consoles are notoriously inflexible when it comes to how they output video, typically only supporting one or two resolutions.
If ultrawide support were to be enacted on the Xbox Series X, game developers would have to - brace yourself - add resolution options for their games. The ability to tinker with display options is something that has been nearly exclusive to the PC for years.
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But all hope’s not lost. One of the most exciting things about the mid-generation refresh a lá the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, was that we started to see some graphics options in a wide variety of popular games - even if they were extremely limited.
Because Microsoft seems to be approaching its gaming division by creating an “ecosystem” that involves Xbox consoles and the best gaming PCs, graphics options could start making their way into console versions of Xbox games. If you take a look at games likeGears 5and theHalo: the Master Chief Collectionon PC, ultrawide support is already there. Theoretically it wouldn’t be very difficult to make ultrawide available on the console side, especially if the same game supports it elsewhere.
We won’t know if this compatibility will make it into the next generation of consoles, or even whether games will take advantage of it if it does, but we’re still excited about the possibility. We’re sure we’ll hear more about what the Xbox Series X can do in the near future, so we’ll eagerly await Microsoft’s word.
Bill Thomas (Twitter) is TechRadar’s computing editor. They are fat, queer and extremely online. Computers are the devil, but they just happen to be a satanist. If you need to know anything about computing components, PC gaming or the best laptop on the market, don’t be afraid to drop them a line on Twitter or through email.
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