Call of Duty: Warzone Performance Comparison for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

Infinity Ward's latest Call of Duty: Warzone Battle Royale title is certainly impressive in all aspects. It boasts a 150 player count, one of the largest maps we've seen in the genre, and hundreds of thousands of weapon attachment combinations, all wrapped into a free-to-play, standalone package on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Call of Duty: Warzone Releases March 10th, 2020, Free to Play

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When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare released in 2019, one of its biggest selling points was an all-new engine that focuses on creating realistic visuals thanks to the photogrammetry-backed models and high resolution textures. Warzone utilizes this same engine, pushing it to its limits - but how well does it perform?

In the latest analysis from Digital Foundry, we can get a good look at just how well Warzone performs across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, Xbox One, and Xbox One X. If you're on the market for a new console and plan to play Warzone, you should definitely consider the strengths and weaknesses of each.

PlayStation 4

The PlayStation 4 platform targets a 1920x1080 resolution, but under load, the horizontal axis will lower the resolution to 960x1080.

As expected, the base consoles struggle in terms of frame rate. PlayStation 4 ranges from 45fps-60fps, depending on the intensity of the scene, averaging around 50fps. However, Vertical Sync is enabled which results in an overall better image quality compared to the Xbox One; And in the later phases of the game, the console does a decent job at maintaining its 60fps target.

PlayStation 4 Pro

The PlayStation 4 Pro platform targets a 2760x1528 resolution, but under load, the horizontal axis will lower the resolution.

Despite the lower resolution when compared to Xbox One X, the PlayStation 4 Pro holds the title of the smoothest frame rate in Warzone. Vertical Sync is enabled, and it only shys away from the 60fps target by a few frames under the most extreme circumstances.

Xbox One

The Xbox One platform targets a 1600x900 resolution, with few frames dropping lower under load. Compared to the other platforms, this puts base Xbox One players at a severe disadvantage due to the lack of visibility and clarity inherited from the lower resolution.

Just as it does resolution, the base Xbox One severely lacks in regard to frame rate when compared to the other consoles. The lower resolution and lack of Vertical Sync results in overall poor image quality, especially due to the 35fps-60fps frame rate that it ranges. As is the case with the base PlayStation 4, frame rate performance is improved as the matches progress and less players and geometry are rendered. Interestingly, the Gulag 1v1 is one of the only scenes that the Xbox One can maintain its 60fps target.

Xbox One X

The Xbox One X platform targets 4K (3840x2160) resolution, but under load, the horizontal axis will lower the resolution to 1920x2160. Despite the dynamic resolution, temporal reconstruction ensures a sharp image in all scenarios. This means that the enhanced Xbox platform provides the clearest image out of all of the consoles, even greater than the PlayStation 4 Pro.

Xbox One X's most notable attribute in terms of frames per second is its Adaptive Vertical Sync, when the frame rate drops, screen tearing is introduced to decrease the jitter of a full frame being duplicated. Overall, the platform maintains its 60fps target, with only slightly more frequent frame drops compared to PlayStation 4 Pro.

If you prefer video format to text, consider watching Digital Foundry's full analysis. We'll keep you updated if a PC performance analysis is released, follow us on Twitter @CODTracker!