That's amazing! The 6-year-old PlayStation 5 gets AI upscaling, you can use it (for now) in these games

Thanks to AI upscaling, owners of the standard PS5 no longer need to eye the more expensive Pro version. Sony introduces Quick Spectral Super Resolution, or QSSR, a technology for increasing image resolution using artificial intelligence, for the base console. It starts specifically: Marvel’s Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei are receiving updates that add it as an additional option in the graphics settings.

Wolverine is set to show the difference in busy streets

Insomniac describes the benefits in environments where many small elements compete for attention. In the streets of Madripoor and the dense urban fabric of Shinjuku alleys, QSSR in Wolverine is expected to improve detail rendering and image stability. These intricate urban scenes are thus intended to be where the new graphics option excels.

Sucker Punch promises better preservation of fine details for characters and environments, as well as higher image stability, in Ghost of Yōtei. The benefit is therefore not limited to a sharper still shot: it is also crucial how consistently details are displayed in subsequent frames.

QSSR accounts for the limits of the base console

Behind this innovation is Project Amethyst, a collaboration between Sony and AMD. QSSR uses a simplified neural network architecture and an implementation manually optimized for PS5 hardware. This allows Sony to bring AI upscaling to the less powerful console, while PSSR remains its quality benchmark on the Pro model.

Therefore, the same result cannot be expected from both solutions. Initial analysis suggests that for the base PS5, it will be more realistic to expect an image upscaled to approximately 1440p rather than 4K as on the PS5 Pro. This is because the base console lacks specialized machine learning hardware that would accelerate this task.

Continuity with PSSR may facilitate further games

QSSR is not intended to remain an exclusive privilege of Sony studios. The company wants to make the technology available to all PlayStation developers. According to Daniel Craig from Sony’s graphics research, games with already implemented PSSR can adopt it as a replacement after a few days of tuning.

However, the first opportunity to enable QSSR comes with updates to specific games: Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei. It is within their graphics mode offerings that AI upscaling for the standard PS5 begins.

In which PS5 game would you welcome a sharper and more stable image?

Sources: theverge.com, notebookcheck.net, engadget.com