Quantum Break runs at 720p, still 'stunning,' report says

Ahead of Quantum Break's release in early April, Digital Foundry has analyzed a prerelease version of the time-bending action game and discovered that it may run at 720p. A whitepaper from developer Remedy published in 2015 [PDF] suggested the game, or at least some elements of it, would run at 1920x1080 pixels (1080p), but Digital Foundry said it has "yet to see evidence of full HD 1080p gameplay."

"In every scene tested so far, a native resolution of 720p is the consistent result found in each pixel count test," it reported. "So while there's every possibility of individual render targets operating at higher resolutions, basic geometry that we're able to measure hands in a 720p result as things stand."

Digital Foundry goes on to say that Quantum Break, even at its reported 720p resolution, still remains "visually impressive, stunning in many areas." This is apparently made possible through Remedy's use of post-effects such as film grain and motion blur, along with anti-aliasing.

"Added to this, image quality appears sharper and noticeably cleaner in more static scenes, where a pixel count suggests something closer to a 900p presentation," it reported. "A temporal reconstruction anti-aliasing solution is a strong contender -- a technique where information from previously rendered frames is blended with the current one."

Digital Foundry explains that Remedy's last console game, Alan Wake, ran at 960x544, well below native 720p, but used 4x MSAA to mitigate the lower resolution.

Remedy has not yet responded to Digital Foundry's report. It's possible the final resolution will be higher or that, even at sub-1080p, the game will still look great. Resolution isn't everything, after all. Digital Foundry reports that Quantum Break runs at a steady 30fps, even during effects-heavy combat sections.

Note, too, that this Digital Foundry report is for the Xbox One edition of Quantum Break. The PC edition of Quantum Break may end up looking and performing better on powerful enough rigs. You can see Quantum Break's PC specs here.

Be sure to read the full Digital Foundry report, as it has loads more details and analysis on Quantum Break's resolution and performance.

Quantum Break, which also includes a TV show, launches on April 5 across Xbox One and PC.