Back in 2020 when Microsoft announced the smaller, cheaper and less powerful Xbox Series S it guaranteed that all games would have feature parity between the two Xbox Series models.

If a feature was in a Series X game it would be available to those playing on the Series S albeit at lower resolutions and possibly frame rates.

Over the years many developers have voiced concerns about the lack of power offered by Series S and it’s effect on Xbox game development. But Microsoft stuck to their guarantee to buyers of the Series S that they would get the same games as those playing on Series X.

That has now changed.

Baldur’s Gate 3 will be the first game launched on for the Xbox Series that offers an inferior version to the Series S.

Local co-op will be an Xbox Series X exclusive feature and will not be available to those on Series S.

Developer Larian Studios say they came to an agreement with Xbox boss Phil Spencer to drop a feature for the Series S and allow the game to release on Xbox.

If Phil had stuck to the feature parity guarantee there would be no Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox at all.

This was a situation that was always going to arise given the performance gap between the Series X and Series S and it’s a problem that won’t simply go away for Microsoft.

It is very likely to be the first of many such examples of Series X exclusive features to come as we approach the mid-life point of the current generation.

There is going to be a lot of Series S owners out there that feel more than a little aggrieved over the current situation but it’s likely to remain a problem for the remainder of the generation.