Averages reflect a sample size of more than 200 titles tested from October 2022 onwards. This is informational — it is not part of XBOX Requirement testing.
How the baselines are captured
Baselines are generated during Certification’s sustainability testing, which is separate from mandatory XR testing. Each title is measured on both XBOX Series X and XBOX Series S using PIX from the GDK.- Connect each console to PIX.
- Progress through gameplay in every available game mode, visiting every relevant area.
- Highlight the timeline for the duration spent in each area and record the average percentage.
- Where possible, follow the same routes and actions across Series X and Series S for comparable results.
Average by in-game area
Averages are split across the most common in-game areas. Definitions are at the bottom of this page.In-engine cutscene
Loading screen
Active gameplay
Constrained state
Contextual menu (pause menu)
Main menu
Multiplayer active gameplay
Multiplayer lobby
Averages by AV output
Power consumption varies with title features such as resolution and frame rate. Graphics settings — performance, quality, resolution — drive GPU load significantly. Results below are averaged from more than 100 test scenarios on multiple versions of titles across the XBOX catalogue.XBOX Series X: 4K at 60 FPS
XBOX Series X: 4K at 30 FPS
XBOX Series X: 1080p at 60 FPS
XBOX Series S: 1440p
XBOX Series S: 1080p
XBOX Series S: 60 FPS (all resolutions)
XBOX Series S: 30 FPS (all resolutions)
In-game area definitions
- Main menu — where the player arrives after the initial interactive state. Offers new game, resume, options.
- Contextual menu — invoked during active gameplay (usually the Menu button).
- Loading screen — displayed when transitioning into or out of active gameplay. Baseline uses the loading screen into active gameplay.
- Active gameplay — actively playing in a single-player mode. Typically the largest opportunity for green code.
- In-engine cutscene — cutscene rendered by the game engine (not a pre-rendered video).
- Multiplayer lobby — the menu for viewing/adding/removing players from a multiplayer session. If a title has no lobby, we substitute an equivalent screen (Social, Friends, Party).
- Multiplayer active gameplay — actively playing in a multiplayer session.
- Constrained state — invoked by pressing the XBOX button and returning Home. The title is minimized and the Home screen displays. A common way to pause when walking away.
Next steps
- Global platform baselines — real-world telemetry averages.
- Sustainability PIX guide — reproduce this process on your own devkit.
- Energy efficiency essentials — techniques to bring your title below these averages.