Microsoft considers moving GPU power from the Kinect to the Xbox One

Microsoft is struggling to boost the Xbox One’s hardware potential and make the console even more manageable for the developers. The Xbox One’s hardware specifications are slightly less than PlayStation 4 and lately a lot of users have been complaining about it because of the next-gen games running on lower frame rate on Xbox One.

News from gaming insider Pete Doss is that Microsoft is mulling significant changes to the restrictions it places on developers regarding the Xbox One’s GPU. Reportedly, some 10% of total GPU horsepower is reserved for the Kinect — 8% for video and 2% for voice processing. Microsoft is apparently planning changes that would free up that 8% video entirely, leaving just 2% of the system’s GPU dedicated to voice input. If Microsoft makes this change, it could have a significant uplift on system frame rates — and it’s not clear that developers would necessarily need to patch the architecture to take advantage of the difference. Generally speaking, in the PC realm, swapping between two GPUs within the same architectural family doesn’t require a driver update provided both cards were covered in the previous driver.