Xbox Series S Delivers Higher Texture Quality Than Nintendo Switch 2 in Final Fantasy VII Remake, Even With Less Game RAM
Square Enix has now brought 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake to Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch 2, and early demo impressions initially leaned favorably toward Switch 2’s overall presentation. That narrative is now getting a sharp technical twist, because Digital Foundry’s detailed breakdown argues the most surprising version in this console trio is actually the Xbox Series S, specifically due to texture quality that lands closer to the premium console builds than many expected.
The key detail is that Xbox Series S is widely known as the budget console of this generation, and it has been criticized repeatedly by developers for memory limitations. On paper, Nintendo Switch 2 has more game memory available than Series S, with 9 GB versus 8 GB, which should normally help texture quality and asset stability. Yet in this specific case, Digital Foundry reports the Series S is deploying the full asset quality seen on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, while Switch 2 appears to be mixing assets pulled from PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 level quality depending on the scene and content segment. That texture outcome is not the expected result when you only look at raw memory numbers, which is why it stands out as a genuine engineering flex.
Digital Foundry’s interpretation is that the Series S is likely pulling this off via texture streaming that leans heavily on CPU capability. Xbox Series S uses a custom 8 core AMD Zen 2 CPU that is architecturally very close to the one in Series X, with the main difference being lower clocks. Meanwhile, Switch 2 is described as using an ARM Cortex A78C CPU that is noticeably less powerful in CPU heavy streaming scenarios. Switch 2 does have NVIDIA DLSS support on the GPU side, but DLSS is not a direct solution for texture residency and streaming throughput, so it does not automatically translate into higher texture quality when the bottleneck is more about asset movement and CPU side scheduling than pixel reconstruction.
That does not mean Series S is matching the premium versions across the board. According to Digital Foundry, some settings such as shadow quality sit in a middle ground between PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It is a reminder that Series S still makes compromises, just not necessarily in the place many players assume. On resolution and frame rate, Series S offers 2 modes: 1080p at 60 frames per second, or 1440p at 30 frames per second. Xbox Series X, by comparison, aligns with PlayStation 5 targets: 1512p at 60 frames per second in Performance Mode, and 2160p at 30 frames per second in Quality Mode.
This becomes extra relevant when you look ahead to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which is rumored to be coming this year to Xbox Series S and X and Nintendo Switch 2. Rebirth is a heavier workload than the first installment because of its wide open areas, and even on PlayStation 5 it was known for softer image quality due to resolution tradeoffs required to stabilize performance. If Square Enix does bring Rebirth over, the big question becomes whether this same streaming and asset strategy can scale up, especially on Switch 2 where open world traversal tends to amplify CPU streaming pressure.
Square Enix has also confirmed a major production decision for the trilogy going forward: even the third part will continue on Unreal Engine 4 rather than moving to Unreal Engine 5, with the reasoning that the development team is more familiar with Unreal Engine 4. This is a pragmatic pipeline choice that may help consistency and delivery, even if it puts more pressure on the team to keep pushing visual upgrades through optimization and content discipline rather than a full engine transition.
What surprised you more here: Xbox Series S achieving premium level texture assets through smarter streaming, or Switch 2 showing limits despite DLSS and higher available game memory?
