The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition delivers graphical enhancements on PS5 including high-resolution textures, volumetric lighting, and revised geometry, but at a severe cost to performance. Cinematic mode targets dynamic 4K at 30fps but suffers from persistent frame-pacing issues and combat frame drops down to 15fps. Performance mode targets 60fps at dynamic 4K with stripped-down settings (no SSR, lower AO, reduced grass density), yet drops into the 30-40fps range during outdoor encounters. The original PS4 Pro release offered a far more stable 30fps cap, making this native PS5 upgrade difficult to recommend.
Graphics modes on PlayStation 5 Pro
Uses PSSR upscaling, though PSSR introduces noticeable noise artifacts when interacting with UE5's Lumen lighting.
Uses PSSR upscaling, though PSSR introduces noticeable noise artifacts when interacting with UE5's Lumen lighting.
Frame-rate targets, resolution, PSSR and ray tracing settings for this platform are still pending independent analysis.
Graphics modes on PlayStation 5
Latest analysed patch: 1.1
The PS5 version offers overhauled visual assets and volumetric lighting, but is heavily hampered by performance issues. Cinematic mode is plagued by bad frame-pacing and drops to 15fps in battle, while Performance mode strips away SSR and grass density yet still drops into the 30-40fps range outdoors.
Performance Mode
PS5Removes screen-space reflections (SSR), lowers ambient occlusion resolution, and reduces grass density compared to Cinematic mode.
Cinematic Mode
PS5Features higher-resolution textures, improved character models, dense foliage, and volumetric lighting effects.
Graphics modes on PlayStation 4 Pro
The original PS4 Pro version of The Outer Worlds delivered a clean, locked 30fps experience, providing a much smoother performance profile than the remastered Spacer's Choice Edition.
Standard Mode
PS4 ProOriginal visual presentation without the Spacer's Choice upgraded assets or volumetric lighting.
PS5 vs PS5 Pro
Side-by-side comparison of graphics modes, resolution and technical features.
| Metric | PS5 | PS5 Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Performance Score | 71Good | Unknown |
| Recommended mode | Performance Mode | Unknown |
| Modes available | 2 | 0 |
| Peak target FPS | 60 | Unknown |
| PSSR | No | No |
| Ray tracing | No | No |
| VRR | Yes | Yes |
| 120 Hz support | No | No |
| PS5 Pro Enhanced | No | Yes |
- Performance Score
- 71Good
- Recommended mode
- Performance Mode
- Modes available
- 2
- Peak target FPS
- 60
- PSSR
- No
- Ray tracing
- No
- VRR
- Yes
- 120 Hz support
- No
- PS5 Pro Enhanced
- No
- Performance Score
- Unknown
- Recommended mode
- Unknown
- Modes available
- 0
- Peak target FPS
- Unknown
- PSSR
- No
- Ray tracing
- No
- VRR
- Yes
- 120 Hz support
- No
- PS5 Pro Enhanced
- Yes
Known issues
Cinematic Mode suffers from uneven frame-pacing and severe drops down to 15fps during combat encounters.
Performance Mode fails to maintain 60fps during outdoor exploration and combat, dropping into the 30-40fps region and occasionally under 30fps.
Video analysis
Independent technical videos referenced in our analysis.
Outerworlds 2 is an excellent performer especially considering its large gameplay spaces and NPC dense towns.
Join Alex for an in-depth breakdown of The Outer Worlds, stacking up the enhanced consoles against PC, with a Battaglia-fuelled settings ...
The Outer Worlds PS5 Pro Gameplay Review, Frame rate FPS & resolution details of this Xbox Game Pass open world RPG that's basically Fallout ...
Select 2160p for Best Quality ◅◅ The Outer Worlds 2 PS5 Pro Modes Graphics & Frame Rate Comparison. Captured with VRR & 120hz ON!
The Outer Worlds 2 PS5 Pro Gameplay, Frame rate FPS performance & resolution fidelity details of this RPG where it's basically Fallout in ...
Tom checks out the Spacer's Choice Edition upgrade to The Outer Worlds, bringing new visuals and all DLC to PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S and PC ...
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Frequently asked
Answers built from the verified data on this page.
What frame rate does The Outer Worlds run at on PS5?
On PS5, The Outer Worlds offers 2 graphics modes: Performance Mode targets 60 FPS at 4K; Cinematic Mode targets 30 FPS at 4K.
What is the PSFoundry Performance Score of The Outer Worlds?
The Outer Worlds scores 71/100 on PS5. The Performance Score measures technical performance only — frame rate, image quality, graphics modes, visual features, responsiveness, loading and stability — not how good the game is.
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