PS5 and Xbox Series X graphics "absolutely unreal", says Gearbox boss

We know that the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have powerful specs on paper. We’ve heard how this translates to a “power you can feel” and an end to “smoke and mirrors” in virtual worlds, but one big industry name would go even further. 

Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford thinks the generational jump from PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Series X will be the biggest shakeup in console history – and yes, that includes the transition from SNES to N64.

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“I think customers will realize how profound of a difference it is to have the throughput capability that these new platforms bring,” Pitchford told Gamespot in a wide ranging interview. 

“It's just absolutely unreal,” he continued. “The leap there with PS5 and Xbox Series X is the biggest leap I have ever seen in the history of console generations. I'm saying, including the leap from 2D to 3D. It's going to change the way we think about every bit of our experiences.”

There’s bad news for early adopters though: Pitchford caveats his analysis with the observation that early titles won’t play to the new machines’ strengths, largely because the lineup is made up of cross-platform titles. 

“It's going to be hard to see that in the initial launch titles because a lot of the launch titles are games that were endeavored upon before,” he said. “Frankly, there are a lot of ports, and games that have already [available] on existing platforms that are being reimagined with these new platforms.”

Cynics might point out that one such title is Gearbox’s own Borderlands 3, but that’s not exactly fair for a couple of reasons: firstly, PS4 and Xbox One copies will be upgraded to take advantage of the new hardware’s power at no extra cost. Secondly, because the company is taking advantage of the new hardware in a very clear, tangible way: four-player split screen, doubling the number available on current systems. 

“We've expanded that a lot, with the upped resolution and framerate to 4K and 60FPS, and added in four-player split-screen, which is like rendering four copies of the game at once on a single console,” Pitchford explained. “It's fricking cool, man.”

That should certainly be appealing to early adopters, especially with the price of launch day games set to skyrocket to as much as $70: Borderlands 3 on PS4 and Xbox One, first released in 2019, doesn’t exactly cost a great deal any more. 

If you haven’t got your hands on a next-gen pre-order just yet, then you can keep track of the latest PS5 pre-orders and Xbox Series X pre-orders. 

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