Hellblade 2 will be 30fps only on Xbox consoles

Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga will only run at 30fps on Xbox Series X/S.

The forthcoming game from Ninja Theory has been built exclusively for Xbox and PC using Unreal Engine 5, truly showing the power of the engine.

However, this comes at a cost. As German outlet GamePro has confirmed, the game only runs at 30fps on console with a dynamic resolution. There are no graphics modes, although frame rate can be increased if played on PC.

To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Developer Direct 2024 – Senua’s Saga Hellblade IIWatch on YouTube

The game's VFX director told GamePro this is to offer a «cinematic» experience and the article writer noted that due to slow and weighty gameplay, the lower frame rate wasn't an issue.

However, this could put off some players hoping for a smoother experience. This also follows Bethesda's Starfield, which was also locked to 30fps on console.

It's unclear if the need to release on the lower-powered Xbox Series S is a factor behind this decision.

Yet Polygon has described Hellblade 2 as a «tech showcase», due to its use of UE5 as well as completely motion-capped animation for both performances and combat. The team visited Iceland to map authentic landscapes, and built props and costumes to be scanned for hyper-realistic textures.

In further news, Polygon noted the absence of Ninja Theory founder and Hellblade writer-director Tameem Antoniades from the studio. An Xbox spokesperson has since confirmed he is no longer working at the developer, with no further reason given.

Antoniades was involved in Hellblade 2 during the early stages of development, though it's now being led by three creative leads: environment art director Dan Attwell, visual effects director Mark Slater-Tunstill, and audio director David Garcia.

The release date for Hellblade 2 was announced in January during Microsoft's latest Xbox Developer Direct. The game arrives on 21st May as a digital-only release across Xbox Series X/S