Xbox Sustainability platform baselines
Developers who want to evaluate their own game’s energy efficiency may wish to compare their game’s power consumption against the platform baseline average, and relative to specific in-game areas. The following section profiles the baseline for a variety of in-game gameplay areas using the results obtained by PIX (available in the GDK) for average power usage. Our measurements for approx. wattage (W) is determined by a typical power watt meter as measured at the wall socket. If you’re seeing approximate power wattage or power consumption percentages above these values, it may prioritise these areas as places to investigate first.
We calculate averages using PIX (Performance Investigator for Xbox) by playing the game as described in the aforementioned How We Test section. For a detailed breakdown on how to use PIX, please see the relevant instructions. The following averages reflect a sample size of >200 titles tested since October 2022 to the time of writing (March 2023).
How do we test?
To generate platform baselines for the existing energy efficiency of games on Xbox, we have leveraged Certification’s testing. Bear in mind this is not part of a mandatory requirement, this is entirely informational. During Certification’s sustainability testing, the title is tested on both Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X using the Performance Investigator for Xbox (PIX) tool in the GDK. This is not part of your Xbox Requirement testing. You can learn about how to use PIX, and the lab console setup to ensure consistency in testing results, from the Gaming Sustainability Tools page.
Data is captured by connecting each console to PIX, then progressing through gameplay in all available game modes and navigating to all relevant areas, then highlighting the timeline for the duration we were in that game area and noting the average percentage. When feasible, we take the same actions, follow the same routes, and progress in the same way on both Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X to maintain parity and offer comparable results between the two consoles. Developers can use their Xbox Series X Development Kit.
After the data is captured, the results are analyzed and saved to our power averages database for publication in documentation such as the one you’re reading now. For more information on our lab and console configuration to ensure consistency between tests, please refer to the Appendix section for PIX Steps which explores more on how we test in a step-by-step manner.
Average by in-game areas
As explained at the top of the page, these averages are split across nine in-game areas. These are currently:
- Main menu
- Loading screen
- In-engine cutscene
- Active gameplay
- Contextual menu (pause menu)
- Constrained state
- Multiplayer lobby
- Multiplayer active gameplay
In-engine cutscene
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 59% | 150W |
| Xbox Series S | 53.2% | 71W |
Loading screen
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 36% | 105W |
| Xbox Series s | 35.2% | 60W |
Active gameplay
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 60.2% | 154W |
| Xbox Series s | 56.2% | 74W |
Constrained state
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 50.7% | 133W |
| Xbox Series S | 48.5% | 65W |
Contextual menu (pause menu)
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 52.5% | 140W |
| Xbox Series S | 51.6% | 70W |
Main menu
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 47% | 123W |
| Xbox Series S | 43% | 63W |
Multiplayer active gameplay
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 57.2% | 150W |
| Xbox Series S | 53.6% | 72W |
Multiplayer lobby
| Console | Average Power Consumption | Approximate Wattage |
|---|---|---|
| Xbox Series X | 48.6% | 131W |
| Xbox Series S | 48% | 70W |
Averages by AV output
We acknowledge that power consumption is likely to vary based on variables related to title features, such as resolution and frame rate, for example. We appreciate that a variety of variables impact dependency on things like the GPU here, and graphics settings or modes like “performance"/"quality"/"resolution" play a major part in things like rendering the resolution, quality settings, and FPS. This should serve as a basic intro to the trend, though. The results in this section represent averages calculated from >100 separate test scenarios performed on multiple versions of various titles in the Xbox catalogue. These numbers will be updated periodically to keep values up to date.
Xbox Series X results
Results captured when running titles on an Xbox Series X console. Please note that these results include an average of power usage and wattage in each of the most common in-game areas of a title. You can read definitions on what we mean by in-game area later in this document.
Xbox Series X: 4K @ 60FPS
| Area | Average Power Usage | Approximate Wattage (W) |
|---|---|---|
| In-engine cutscene | 59.33% | 151W |
| Loading screen | 37.6% | 107W |
| Active gameplay | 60.5% | 154W |
| Constrained state | 51.5% | 136W |
| Contextual menu (pause menu) | 54.3% | 144W |
| Main menu | 49.6% | 126W |
| Multiplayer active gameplay | 57.5% | 150W |
| Multiplayer lobby | 48.9% | 131W |
Xbox Series X: 4K @ 30FPS
| Area | Average Power Usage | Approximate Wattage (W) |
|---|---|---|
| In-engine cutscene | 58.3% | 143W |
| Loading screen | 35.4% | 100W |
| Active gameplay | 57.9% | 150W |
| Constrained state | 51.2% | 131W |
| Contextual menu (pause menu) | 46.2% | 126W |
| Main menu | 41% | 108W |
| Multiplayer active gameplay | 56.2% | 149W |
| Multiplayer lobby | 49.6% | 135W |
Xbox Series X: 1080p @ 60FPS
| Area | Average Power Usage | Approximate Wattage (W) |
|---|---|---|
| In-engine cutscene | 58.5% | 151W |
| Loading screen | 32.4% | 107W |
| Active gameplay | 43.6% | 154W |
| Constrained state | 39.6% | 107W |
| Contextual menu (pause menu) | 45% | 136W |
| Main menu | 49.1% | 144W |
| Multiplayer active gameplay | 46% | 126W |
| Multiplayer lobby | 38.9% | 150W |
Xbox Series S results
Results captured when running titles on an Xbox Series S console. Please note that these results include an average of power usage and wattage in each of the most common in-game areas of a title.
Xbox Series S: 1440p
| Area | Average Power Usage | Approximate Wattage (W) |
|---|---|---|
| In-engine cutscene | 56% | 75W |
| Loading screen | 32.5% | 58W |
| Active gameplay | 58.6% | 77W |
| Constrained state | 50.6% | 70W |
| Contextual menu (pause menu) | 52.6% | 73W |
| Main menu | 39.8% | 64W |
| Multiplayer active gameplay | 56.7% | 73W |
| Multiplayer lobby | 44.8% | 75W |
Xbox Series S: 1080p
| Area | Average Power Usage | Approximate Wattage (W) |
|---|---|---|
| In-engine cutscene | 46% | 66W |
| Loading screen | 31.5% | 57W |
| Active gameplay | 51.6% | 71W |
| Constrained state | 44.7% | 61W |
| Contextual menu (pause menu) | 46.2% | 65W |
| Main menu | 41.4% | 60W |
| Multiplayer active gameplay | 48.7% | 68W |
| Multiplayer lobby | 47.1% | 63W |
Xbox Series S: 60 FPS (all resolutions)
| Area | Average Power Usage | Approximate Wattage (W) |
|---|---|---|
| In-engine cutscene | 54.2% | 71W |
| Loading screen | 35.8% | 61W |
| Active gameplay | 56.6% | 74W |
| Constrained state | 50% | 65.4W |
| Contextual menu (pause menu) | 54% | 71W |
| Main menu | 47% | 65W |
| Multiplayer active gameplay | 54.1% | 72W |
| Multiplayer lobby | 50.7% | 71W |
Xbox Series S: 30 FPS (all resolutions)
| Area | Average Power Usage | Approximate Wattage (W) |
|---|---|---|
| In-engine cutscene | 51.5% | 71W |
| Loading screen | 33.9% | 55W |
| Active gameplay | 54.2% | 71W |
| Constrained state | 45.3% | 65W |
| Contextual menu (pause menu) | 45.2% | 66W |
| Main menu | 33% | 57W |
| Multiplayer active gameplay | 50.1% | 69W |
| Multiplayer lobby | 38.1% | 67W |
Defining game modes
We understand that a game typically has more operations to perform during gameplay than when the user is outside of gameplay – in the menu, for example. To help separate power averages into buckets, we have taken averages for as many in-game areas as possible. This section will define what we mean for each area:
Main menu: Typically, where the user will arrive after the initial interactive state. This is a menu that will offer the user the chance to start a new game, resume a game, or enter the options menu to make settings changes.
Contextual menu: The menu invoked during active single player gameplay, usually when by pressing the Menu button. If the title does not support single player gameplay, then we use multiplayer gameplay.
Loading screen: Typically displayed when transitioning into or out of active gameplay. During test we use the loading screen displayed when loading into active gameplay.
Active gameplay: This refers to actively playing the game in a single player game mode. Arguably the most populated area of a single-player title, active gameplay usually presents great opportunities to introduce green code.
In-engine cutscene: Refers to a cutscene that is rendered using the game engine. This is easily identifiable in a game that has both in-title and pre-rendered cutscenes, however when this is not the case observing texture quality and animations can help identify whether a cutscene is rendered by a game engine or is pre-rendered.
Multiplayer lobby: The menu that allows the user to view, add and remove other users from a multiplayer session. Whilst this is typically presented to the user before reaching active gameplay a multiplayer lobby can sometimes be reached during active gameplay. During test, if a title supports multiplayer gameplay but does not present a lobby in any area, we usually use any comparable area as a substitute (Social menu, Friends list, Party menu).
Multiplayer active gameplay: Refers to actively playing the game in a multiplayer session. During test we strive to capture data in every multiplayer game mode available to obtain data in as many relevant areas as possible. Results so far suggest that titles produce very similar results between multiplayer game modes.
Constrained state: On an Xbox console, a title can be placed in a constrained state by pressing the Xbox button to invoke the guide and selecting ‘Home’. This minimises the title and displays the Xbox Home screen. A constrained state is a convenient way for the user to pause the game in any area when walking away from a title, thus represents an area worth investigating. For test we typically constrain the title during single player active gameplay and substitute with multiplayer active gameplay when necessary.
Next steps
To learn more about platform baselines, please click the link below to read global platform averages as reported by console telemetry