How does Destiny’s Xbox 360 release compare to the Xbox One version?

By Adam Rosenberg September 9, 2014

Read our full Destiny review.

There are some beautiful sights to be seen in Destiny, but most every one you’ve gotten to peer at up until now has come from the PlayStation 4 or Xbox One version of the game. Now that Bungie’s latest is finally upon us, we can get a proper sense of how it looks on the last-gen consoles by comparison.

The Xbox 360 release takes a considerable hit on the presentation side of things. Probably the PS3 version too, but we only ran this video comparison on Xbox consoles. None of this should be coming as a surprise. The PS4 and Xbox One have much more powerful hardware inside, after all. A step down on the last-gen was to be expected.

Related: Bungie speaks to the challenge of bringing Destiny to four different consoles

How does it shake out specifically? In terms of overall performance, the current-gen release is just smoother overall, maintaining a near-constant 30 frames per second. As you can see in the video, the Xbox 360 release is much choppier, especially when you’re swinging the camera around quickly in a large environment.

The current-gen release also sports much sharper textures. They’re noticeably blurrier on the last-gen machines. There’s also a fair amount of pop-in on the earlier hardware, again, most particularly in the larger open world spaces. You’ll notice, however, that for any performance or visual differences, the load times appear to be very similar (as we see in the video when Old Russia loads up).

None of this is to say that the last-gen version of Destiny is unplayable. On the contrary, it’s an achievement that a game filled with so much detail could be made to run at all on comparatively underpowered machines. But if you’ve been curious to see what the two versions look like running side-by-side, here’s your chance.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

Here’s the entire Destiny 2 story explained, up through The Witch Queen

Destiny 2 Beyond Light Beginner's Guide.

Destiny 2 is here, kicking off a new chapter of Activision's wildly popular shared-world shooter. A lot has happened in the universe of Destiny since the original game launched, including expansions, large and small, which add to the story, and countless tweaks to the form and function of the game's fundamental elements. So much has happened, in fact, that a reminder might be in order for anyone wondering what's going on in Destiny these days.

The latest expansion, The Witch Queen, is actually the twelfth chapter in the Destiny saga, depending on how you count. Developer Bungie released Destiny in September 2014, followed by four major expansions: The Dark Below, House of Wolves, The Taken King, and Rise of Iron. Destiny 2 kicked off the series' second arc a few years back and has already seen a few expansions to progress the storyline even further.

Gaming

Destiny 2 Iron Banner guide: How to earn the Iron Lord title

A group of 6 Destiny 2 players stand in a line, waiting for a match to start.

Lord Saladin, the legendary Titan in Destiny 2, has returned to the Tower and has brought his Iron Banner with him. There are some major changes to how this PVP-focused mode operates, and some of the tasks are, frankly, a bit confusing. Never fear, your friends at Digital Trends have braved the skirmishes and stood over defeated foes to break it all down for you in this guide. We will show you how to complete the Forged in Iron quest and get you started on the path to earning the Iron Lord title.

Gaming

Destiny 2: How to unlock the Jötunn Catalyst

The Destiny 2 Exotic fusion rifle Jötunn up close, with stats in view.

Jötunn, the exotic fusion rifle in Destiny 2, is known for its ability to erase Hive wizards and oppose guardians in an instant. It’s a controversial weapon, one that can turn moderately skilled hands into a Guardian wrecking machine. And now it’s getting even better, with a brand new catalyst. We have everything you need to know about how to unlock the Jötunn Catalyst and what it does.