Frame rate (FPS) is the number of individual images a game outputs every second, and it directly affects how smooth motion looks and how responsive the game feels.
FPS stands for frames per second. If a game runs at 60 FPS, it is producing 60 complete frames every second, while 120 FPS or 240 FPS means it is producing more frames in the same time, which usually makes motion look smoother because the image updates more frequently.
Frame rate is not the same as a monitor’s refresh rate. FPS describes how fast the system renders frames, while refresh rate is measured in Hertz (Hz) and describes how often the display updates the image each second.
Higher FPS usually looks smoother because the game updates animation and camera movement more often, which reduces the visible “step size” between positions when objects move quickly across the screen.
Higher FPS can also improve perceived responsiveness because the game has more frequent opportunities to process input and present a newer frame. This does not remove all delay, but it can make controls feel more immediate, especially in fast action games where input latency is noticeable.
In real gameplay, FPS is limited by whatever part of the system finishes each frame last. If the CPU takes longer to run game logic and prepare rendering work, the game can be CPU-bound; if the GPU takes longer to render the scene, it can be GPU-bound.
Some games are capped at 30 or 60 FPS to keep performance consistent, to match common display refresh targets, or to avoid unstable frame delivery that feels worse than a lower but steady target. Consoles also tend to use fixed performance targets more often than PCs because the hardware is standardised and developers can tune around a specific budget, which is where a frame cap often comes in.
This is also why settings related to how frames are presented can matter: options like V-Sync and topics like screen tearing affect how frames line up with the display, while techniques like upscaling are often used to raise FPS by reducing rendering workload.