More than four weeks ago gaming website Gamekyo posted information regarding their discussion with Konami's Julien Merceron, a technology director who has spent a great deal of time working on the Fox Engine. Among the details shared was something that seemed almost too good to be true at the time. Merceron stated that due to Microsoft's release of a new Xbox One SDK, Konami development members were able to improve the presentation of this year's Metal Gear Solid and Pro Evolution Soccer releases, jumping from their prior 720p resolution to a staggering 1080p.
Many took this as an non-credible rumor, with NeoGAF's EuropeOG posting that it was "confirmed bull****". Well, it turns out that it was true all along.
PES European product manager Adam Bhatti has confirmed on Twitter that PES 2016 will run at 1080p and 60FPS. His post states the following:
This lines up with what was claimed by Gamekyo meaning that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain should follow suit. But this evolution means much more than just a potentially great visual experience on the Xbox One version of this year's Metal Gear Solid. If the SDK is truly impactful enough to nearly double the rendered pixels for these two games, then future Xbox One titles are sure to see similar bumps in visual fidelity.
Since the Xbox One's launch it has struggled to compete with its rival PS4 in resolution. While Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes was a particularly extreme example (720p vs 1080p), most multiplatform titles run at a higher resolution on PS4. For example, the recent Batman: Arkham Knight ran at 900p on Xbox One versus the 1080p of PS4.
Microsoft has said a lot about how it's using software to increase the ceiling of potential for the Xbox One, especially when it comes to the introduction of its touted DirectX 12 software. As a matter of fact, DirectX 12's potential has been talked up so much that many are skeptical as to how much impact it will have on future games, particularly when it comes to the Xbox One. If Konami's games are any indication, it could be a game changer.
