Microsoft announced on November 4, 2026, that AMD FSR Upscaling 4 was available to Xbox developers. Its Xbox GDK sample identifies the implementation as version 4.1.2 and includes Full and Lite INT8 models for Xbox Series X|S, plus a Windows integration example. This is developer tooling, not an automatic update for games already on players’ consoles.
FSR is a machine-learning upscaler. It uses spatial and temporal information across frames to reconstruct a higher-resolution image from a lower-resolution, jittered input. Microsoft describes its work with AMD to optimize the technology for Xbox Series X|S GPUs based on RDNA 2.
What Microsoft’s Xbox Series X|S sample timings measure
Microsoft lists the time each model takes to run the upscaler dispatch at the stated console and output resolution. These are timings for that graphics pass, not for a complete frame or a commercial game. Microsoft says the figures may change.
| Console | Model | Output resolution | Upscaler dispatch |
| Xbox Series X | Lite INT8 | 1440p | 1.29 ms |
| Xbox Series X | Lite INT8 | 4K | 2.75 ms |
| Xbox Series X | Full INT8 | 1440p | 1.95 ms |
| Xbox Series X | Full INT8 | 4K | 3.86 ms |
| Xbox Series S | Lite INT8 | 1080p | 1.9 ms |
| Xbox Series S | Lite INT8 | 1440p | 3.4 ms |
| Xbox Series S | Full INT8 | 1080p | 2.9 ms |
| Xbox Series S | Full INT8 | 1440p | 5.2 ms |
An upscaler’s dispatch time is one part of a frame’s work, not a forecast of a game’s frame rate.
For Xbox Series S, the sample lists Lite at 1.9 ms for 1080p output and 3.4 ms for 1440p; Full takes 2.9 ms and 5.2 ms at those resolutions, respectively. John Crow discusses Microsoft’s Series S timing figures in this English-language commentary.
Microsoft also reports 304.03 MB of dedicated GPU memory for either Full or Lite in one sample configuration: a 3840 × 2160 target, 2560 × 1440 render resolution and Quality mode. The figure excludes swapchain overhead and applies to that setup.
What the GDK sample requires from developers
The sample requires Microsoft Game Development Kit (GDK) October 2025 or later, along with supported hardware that includes typed UAV load and R16G16B16A16_UNORM support. It lets developers select FSR4 Full, FSR4 Lite or FSR3 at runtime on Xbox and choose scaling modes.
For its integration, the sample uses color, depth and motion-vector inputs. Exposure can be omitted when auto exposure is enabled; reactive and transparency/composition masks are optional.
What the release means for Xbox players
A game needs its own FSR integration for players to use the feature; developer access does not turn it on across existing games. The sample’s dispatch timings describe the upscaler pass, not frame-rate or image-quality results in a commercial title.
