Sony Is Working on the Future of Game Graphics for Everyone

Now that nan PS5 Pro is here, we cognize that it does present somewhat amended gaming performance, particularly whenever a ‘performance mode’ is enabled. This is mostly acknowledgment to nan RDNA 2 GPU simply having much compute units and faster representation – but Sony besides worked successful PSSR, aliases PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, to bring AI upscaling to consoles for nan first time.

This is breathtaking technology, to beryllium sure, but nan measurement Sony comberan present is fascinating, and could person repercussions for nan full gaming industry, acknowledgment to an unfastened attack to who gets to usage nan underlying exertion down these caller features. Because dissimilar an Nvidia graphics card, nan PS5 Pro does not person a discrete ‘Tensor’ halfway to accelerate its AI algorithm – which perchance intends anyone tin create a akin neural network, moreover Microsoft pinch its adjacent portion of hardware.

No Dedicated AI Hardware?

We precocious comberan a chance to sit down pinch Mark Cerny and talk astir nan PS5 Pro’s GPU connected a much granular level, and he confirmed that nan caller console is still utilizing an RDNA 2 GPU, conscionable for illustration nan guidelines PS5, but pinch mini alterations to each of nan cores. These alterations were implemented by Sony to alteration nan neural web down PSSR to tally natively connected nan shader halfway itself, alternatively than, arsenic Cerny put it, “adding a Tensor portion aliases thing to it."

I asked Mark Cerny really Sony did this and he said “rather than usage a discrete portion for instrumentality learning, nan astir 200 TOPs of processing powerfulness was added straight to nan WGP (Sony’s streaming multiprocessor)”. Further, he stated that there’s “not overmuch use to having a abstracted portion process nan neural web – nan rendering pipeline would conscionable stall waiting for nan results.”

It’s not a enigma that GPUs are uniquely talented astatine powering instrumentality learning technology, but Sony is fundamentally utilizing nan aforesaid hardware to render nan game, and besides to upscale it. I’m not judge what circumstantial improvements Sony has made to nan RDNA 2 GPU, but it does mean that PSSR fundamentally tin not adhd rather arsenic overmuch capacity arsenic thing for illustration DLSS, which does trust connected a discrete Tensor portion wrong of each Nvidia graphics card.

This is apt because adding a discrete Tensor portion aliases AI accelerator to nan GPU would origin issues for developers who yet request to codification their games to tally connected some nan PS5 and PS5 Pro. In fact, that’s nan full logic Sony is sticking pinch RDNA 2 and adding prime features from RDNA 3, alternatively of conscionable implementing an RDNA 3 GPU entirely.

As Cerny explains: “Drivers successful nan console world thin to beryllium very, very thin. That's viewed arsenic 1 of nan benefits of consoles – that you tin return afloat advantage of each of nan hardware features.”

Trying to person a console procreation pinch 2 disparate generations of GPUs would complicate crippled improvement excessively much. In fact, you tin conscionable look astatine the problems Larian faced erstwhile trying to larboard Baldur’s Gate 3 to some nan Xbox Series S and Series X, and those consoles are some utilizing nan aforesaid procreation of graphics – 1 is conscionable much powerful than nan other.

It makes sense, then, why Sony would opt for further customizing RDNA 2 alternatively of conscionable making a generational jump pinch RDNA 3. Because while RDNA 3 already has AI accelerators – sloppy of whether FSR uses them aliases not – a caller procreation of GPU would necessitate a caller console generation. And Sony isn’t fresh for that move rather yet.

Instead, Sony made immoderate caller tweaks, including adding a hidden cache of DDR5 to tally nan operating system, to fto nan caller neural web person greater entree to nan 16GB of GDDR6 memory.

"Open For Anyone That Wants to Use It"

One of nan champion things astir AMD graphics cards is they usage a batch of package that is unfastened to anyone, sloppy of what hardware they’re running. For instance, FSR aliases FidelityFX Super Resolution will activity connected immoderate graphics card, beryllium it from AMD, Nvidia aliases moreover Intel. So, moreover if it isn’t rather arsenic powerful arsenic DLSS aliases XeSS from Intel, developers tin instrumentality it and cognize that their full instal guidelines tin usage it.

This has made upscaling tech nan default for PC games complete nan past fewer years, making it overmuch easier to play games astatine higher resolutions and pinch much beautiful effects. And now that’s coming to consoles. While PSSR is only successful nan PS5 Pro – it has PlayStation successful nan sanction and everything – nan underlying exertion isn’t exclusive to Sony. Instead, anyone that wants to instrumentality a neural web for upscaling tin build disconnected of what Sony has done pinch nan PS5 Pro.

In fact, successful his latest heavy dive into nan tech down PS5 Pro, Cerny revealed that Sony and AMD are entering into a strategical partnership, called Project Amethyst, pinch nan extremity of processing and advancing nan early of gaming graphics – for everyone.

“This is not astir creating proprietary exertion aliases hardware for PlayStation,” Cerny told IGN. “It tin beryllium utilized by anyone who wants to usage it.”

Given that we still haven’t seen a mid-generation refresh of nan Xbox Series X, it intends Microsoft could theoretically return advantage of this technology, aliases astatine slightest portion of it.

What This Means For Xbox And PC

On PC, we already person entree to instrumentality learning-accelerated upscaling done Nvidia’s DLSS and Intel’s XeSS, nevertheless some of those are locked to their respective graphics cards. FSR is still nan only upscaling exertion that tin beryllium enabled connected immoderate graphics paper connected nan market, and if nan foundations of PSSR are successful, it could mean gamers get entree to a overmuch amended upscaling technology.

I’ve been waiting for AMD to denote a type of FSR that useful pinch a neural web to boost its accuracy and quality, and because Team Red worked truthful intimately pinch Sony connected PSSR, it’s not that overmuch of a jump to presume that FSR 4.0 will return a batch of inspiration from nan PS5 Pro’s upscaling tech.

This would evidently beryllium immense for high-end gaming PCs moving AMD graphics cards, but nan biggest benefactor would beryllium handheld gaming PCs for illustration nan Asus ROG Ally X aliases Steam Deck. With those, nan magnitude of horsepower is yet constricted by nan mini shape facet of nan device, positive nan truth that it needs to execute nether artillery power. Right now, nan only existent upscaling tech you tin usage pinch 1 of those handhelds is FSR, which has limits, particularly astatine 1080p.

Likewise, location person been rumors for a while that Microsoft is moving connected immoderate benignant of Xbox handheld. That’s obscurity adjacent being confirmed, but having a much reliable upscaling tech would surely destruct immoderate of nan hurdles of creating a handheld capable to grip current-generation Xbox games without excessively overmuch of a ocular downgrade.

Is PSSR The Future?

With really ubiquitous FSR, DLSS and XeSS person become, it’s difficult to reason against nan value of AI upscaling successful gaming. Really, it was only a matter of clip earlier either Microsoft aliases Sony implemented it into their consoles. What’s amazing, though, is that Sony is approaching it successful a measurement that will facilitate nan maturation of nan exertion crossed nan industry.

Because PSSR isn’t being tally connected discrete hardware, it will ne'er person rather arsenic overmuch of a capacity uplift – astatine slightest pinch nan aforesaid value level – arsenic thing for illustration DLSS that does tally connected a discrete Tensor core. Cerny confirms this capacity cost, stating that there’s “a tradeoff – render astatine a somewhat higher solution utilizing little costly non-ML upscaling, aliases render astatine a little solution and usage PSSR. Of course, rendering solution should not beryllium nan superior concern, nan eventual extremity is nan highest imaginable image quality!”

No matter really you portion it, rendering a crippled astatine 1080p, past upscaling that to 4K is ever going to beryllium easier connected your hardware than rendering natively astatine 4K, moreover if you adhd an AI upscaling algorithm to nan mix.

Hopefully, different hardware manufacturers tin return what Sony has started and iterate connected it, successful bid to make gaming astatine higher resolutions much accessible for everyone, nary matter nan level of hardware they person entree to. We don’t person immoderate thought what nan adjacent procreation of consoles are going to look like, but I americium now almost definite each next-generation console is going to beryllium utilizing immoderate benignant of instrumentality learning to make nan games look amended than they different would.

Jackie Thomas is nan Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and nan PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra