Why do more PS4 games run in 1080p than Xbox One? Sniper Elite dev explains

Why do more PlayStation 4 games run in 1080p compared to the Xbox One? Sniper Elite 3 developer Rebellion Games senior producer Jean-Baptiste Bolcato told GamingBolt that part of the issue comes down to the Xbox One's eSRAM.

"I think eSRAM is easy to use. The only problem is…Part of the problem is that it’s just a little bit too small to output 1080p within that size," he said. "It's such a small size within there that we can't do everything in 1080p with that little buffer of super-fast RAM."

"It means you have to do it in chunks or using tricks, tiling it and so on. It's a bit like the reverse of the PS3. PS3 was harder to program for than the Xbox 360. Now it seems like everything has reversed but it doesn't mean it’s far less powerful--it’s just a pain in the ass to start with. We are on fine ground now but the first few months were hell."

This is why, Bolcato said, you see more games running in 1080p on PS4 compared to Xbox One, a fact that has drawn debate and controversy for months now. Rebellion Games is targeting 1080p/60fps for both the Xbox One and PS4 versions of Sniper Elite 3.

Bolcato said he's sure the development process for Xbox One will get easier over time and it's already improved since Rebellion began work on the platform, he said.

"We were worried six months ago and we are not anymore," he said. "It’s got better and they are quite comparable machines. The Xbox One is a bit more multimedia, a bit more hub-centric so its a bit more complex. There’s stuff you can and can't do because it’s a sort of multimedia hub. PS4 doesn’t have that. PS4 is just a games machine."

This is why, according to Bolcato, the PS4--at least on paper--is "a bit more powerful," he said. "But I think the Xbox One is going to catch up."

For more on the exact technical differences between the Xbox One and PS4, check out this chart.

Sony has previously said the reason why PS4 games sport better visual performance is because the console is the system developers want. Meanwhile, Microsoft has said that "these little things get way overblown" about the 1080p/60fps debate.