PS5 Pro Set to Get Upgraded PSSR Upscaling Technology, Starting with Resident Evil Requiem

Sony has confirmed an upgrade to their PSSR upscaling technology for the PS5 Pro, which is expected to provide significant improvements to gameplay visuals. PSSR stands for PlayStation Spectral Super quality, and it’s essentially an AI-powered tool that examines each pixel in a game frame before rebuilding the image at a higher quality. Since its release, developers have used it to increase the effective resolution in over 50 PS5 Pro titles, but the latest version is a total overhaul, with a new neural network and a fresh way of looking at the entire process.

The upgrade was designed using lessons learned from Sony’s collaboration with AMD on Project Amethyst, the same partnership that resulted in AMD’s FSR 4 upscaling technology, which PC users with newer GPUs have been enjoying for some time. Sony claims that the console version has undergone an additional six months of fine-tuning expressly to make the most of the PS5 Pro technology. As a result, it performs much better with complicated aspects. Consider individual strands of hair or beard depicted as individual polygons, which now move organically with the body, wind, or other factors at play. And light interacts with them in a more realistic way when they overlap, resulting in textures that were previously difficult to scale up properly.

The first game to benefit from all of this is Capcom’s Resident Evil Requiem, which was released today and includes the upgraded PSSR. Capcom developers believe the technology elevates the protagonist’s presentation to a new level. Horror fans understand that getting the sights just right is essential for building tension, and this upgrade accomplishes exactly that, preserving all of the detailed textures while maintaining high frame rates and image quality. Masaru Ijuin, a senior manager in Capcom’s engine development team, stated that all of these minor features make a difference since they deepen immersion and provide a new feel for the game.

More titles will be released soon, and a number of older games that support the original PSSR will be upgraded in March. Sony is preparing a free system software update for the PS5 Pro next month, and once loaded, you can just go to settings and choose “Enhance PSSR Image Quality”. That one switch applies the new upscaling to any game that can support it, eliminating the need for publishers to undertake any further work. Of course, if you don’t want to upgrade, you may easily switch back.