Sony introduces AI upscaling to base PS5; Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei are first games to implement new tech

Sony Interactive Entertainment has integrated AI upscaling technology, named Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR), into the base PlayStation 5 console. This technology was developed as part of Sony's ongoing collaboration with AMD for AI graphics. QSSR is designed to enhance image quality and boost frame rates on the PS5, thanks to its streamlined neural network architecture and optimized implementation specifically for the PS5.

While PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) remains a feature exclusive to the PS5 Pro, Sony's Principal Engineer for Graphics R&D, Daniel Craig, expressed his satisfaction with improving the PS5 even further into the console generation. He noted that the PS5 Pro offers 300 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of dedicated hardware for this purpose, allowing it to achieve a more favorable position on the cost-quality curve.

QSSR primarily relies on FP16 math (floating-point arithmetic with 16 bits per value) and makes use of other hardware features to maximize efficiency.

Sony has made the QSSR technology available to PlayStation developers, ensuring that it can be implemented as a drop-in replacement for titles that already support PSSR. However, developers may need to spend some time adjusting game settings, such as streaming settings, to ensure higher quality mips are ready.

The first games to utilize AI upscaling on the base PS5 are Marvel's Wolverine, developed by Insomniac Games, and Ghost of Tsushima, developed by Sucker Punch Productions. QSSR excels at resolving fine details in characters and environments, providing a level of temporal stability that was previously unattainable on the PS5 console. According to Sucker Punch Productions' lead rendering engineer, Jasmin Patry, QSSR is a significant step towards making the exceptional image quality of PSSR accessible to all PS5 players.