The lead architect of Sony‘s PS5 and PS5 Pro, Mark Cerny, has confirmed that an upgraded version of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) is coming for the PS5 Pro in March. The first game to use the enhanced PSSR is Resident Evil Requiem.
PSSR, an AI library, will analyze game images down to the pixel level before upscaling them. Cerny confirmed on his blog that it has been used to “boost the effective resolution of over 50 titles on PS5 Pro to date.” He added:
“We’ve been hard at work on a new version of PSSR, which takes a very different approach to not only the neural network but also the overall algorithm.”
With Resident Evil Requiem, players will be able to experience finer details in the characters, which were otherwise difficult to express without PSSR. Capcom’s Senior Manager, Engine Development Support Section, R&D Foundational Technology Department, Masaru Ijuin, explained the big difference PSSR will bring about in gameplay experience:
“With Resident Evil Requiem, we focused on enhancing the presentation quality of the protagonist through an upgraded version of RE Engine to deepen the player’s immersion in horror. For example, each individual strand of hair and beard is rendered as a polygon, allowing it to move realistically in response to body motion and wind. The way light passes through his hair changes depending on how the strands of hair are overlapped as well. This detailed expression of texture is one of the many details that we would especially love for our fans to see.
“The upgraded PSSR has allowed us to elevate our expressiveness by successfully processing these details and textural particularities, which are traditionally difficult to upscale because of their intricacy. We hope you will experience this unprecedented level of horror and visual fidelity, and the new gameplay feel it delivers.”
Users will be able to switch to the upgraded PSSR after a software update on the PS5 Pro next month. Cerny revealed that some existing games will display “crisper” graphics after the update rolls out. He wrote:
“We look forward to more news in March, when multiple existing games upgrade to the improved PSSR. There will also be a system software update at that time; selecting “Enhance PSSR Image Quality” in Settings on PS5 Pro will allow you to experience the new PSSR with any PS5 Pro games that currently support PSSR! Once the system update releases next month, try it and see, some games may have noticeably crisper graphics.”