Starfield FPS

Not long after the Starfield Direct showcase went live, Todd Howard discussed the state of the Starfield FPS in an exclusive interview. Now we’re a bit closer to the release date, we’ve got a good idea of what requirements are necessary to get the best FPS settings out in the depths of space, and what you might need to do to make it possible.

If you already know what frames-per-second (FPS) Starfield is capable of, you might want to double-check that your computer meets the Starfield system requirements, or find out what other Starfield settings you can tweak when the game releases in September. It’s also worth checking out our Starfield Steam Deck guide to see what sort of performance we’re expecting from Bethesda’s latest RPG on Valve’s handheld hardware.

Is there a Starfield FPS cap?

Todd Howard has confirmed that the Starfield FPS cap sits at around 30 frames per second. During an interview, Todd stated that Starfield runs at “4K on the [Xbox Series X] and 1440 on the [Xbox Series S]” and that Bethesda does “lock [the FPS] at 30”.

Bethesda made the decision to lock the FPS at 30 not because of hardware or software limitations, but for “fidelity”. This is to ensure that “these huge open worlds, fully dynamic, hyper-detail” run consistently. However, Todd did make clear that Starfield is “often running way above [30 FPS], sometimes at 60” on PC. So, if the Starfield FPS rate is a big part of your reason to play the game, you may want to think about checking out the PC version.

It makes sense why Howard and the rest of the Bethesda team don’t want to set expectations too high for Starfield FPS rates. The developer has had difficulties with high FPS experiences in the past, most notably with Fallout 76, so it’s fair to assume it doesn’t want to overpromise on this much-anticipated title. Still, it’s a whole new game engine that the developer is using for this game, so we may get more updates on the possibility of improving the Starfield FPS following the launch.

Why is Starfield locked to 30 FPS?

Locking the Starfield FPS to 30 frames per second gives the game more space to load in resources during intense moments. By forgoing the 60 FPS setting, players are less likely to experience screen-tearing and similar graphical errors when a lot of entities spawn in – be it enemies, planets, systems, or all of the sandwiches you just dropped onto the floor from your inventory.

You just had to drop them, didn’t you?

Is there a Starfield 60 FPS mod?

It’s possible that a Starfield mod will be created to change this for you and provide a smoother experience. We’re going to be keeping a keen eye on the community for any potential Starfield FPS mods, as we know there’s a desire with a large portion of the player base to boost the frames to the highest they can reasonably go. However, you may have to cope with your Starfield FPS sitting at around 30 for the first few weeks of your adventure through the various planets and systems.

How to upgrade Starfield FPS to 60

While Xbox Series X and S are stuck with 30 FPS, PC players will be glad to hear that there are several workarounds to unlocking Starfield FPS to those glorious 60 frames per second.

The simplest method is to manipulate the game’s files. If Starfield is structured anything like the Fallout or Elder Scrolls series, there will be a starfield.ini file located in your install location. Here, you can open the .ini file in Notepad and find the FPS field.

From here (assuming Starfield uses the same terms as previous games), locate the iPresentInterval and set the value to 0. This will uncap the framerate, but potentially cause screen-tearing issues during gameplay.