PS5 AI upscaling just cancelled my PS5 Pro FOMO

by · Creative Bloq

Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter

see our pick of the best game consoles for other options).

The launch of the PS5 Pro two years ago created a problem for PS5 owners. Do you really want to fork out for another console already? A lot of people can live without the performance improvements, but PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), Sony's AI-powered upscaling tech on the PS5 Pro was tempting. It makes games look sharper... but $300 sharper?

Now PS5 owners have at least one reason to be less envious. AI upscaling is coming to the standard PS5.

Latest Videos FromCreative Bloq
Watch full video here:

Editor's pick
Sony Playstation 5 Disc Console Slim – 1TB: $649 at Walmart
View Deal

The base PS5 isn't getting PSSR but a new tier of AI upscaling called QSSR: Quick Spectral Super Resolution. For now, it's been added in patches for two games: Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yotei (see the comparisons below).

Ghost of Yōtei - Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR) | PS5 Games - YouTube

Watch On
Marvel's Wolverine - Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR) | PS5 Games - YouTube

Watch On

How is PS5 AI upscaling possible?

Sony Interactive Entertainment principal engineer of graphics R&D, Daniel Craig notes in the PlayStation Blog that the computational approach of PSSR, which analyses game images pixel by pixel and uses AI to upscale them with more detail and stability, was impossible on the standard PS5.

You may like

  • PS5 or Xbox Series X for GTA 6? This is the one I’d buy

  • Is Nvidia’s DLSS 5 an AI slop machine or a game-changing technology that will take us closer to artists' original vision?

  • A big PlayStation Summer Sale is happening right now on physical PS5 game discs

QSSR was made possible by two key innovations: a "streamlined neural network architecture" and "a hand-tuned implementation that maximizes performance on PS5". Together these work to provide "some notable improvements to both image detail and image stability".

This is not the same kind of AI tech as Nvidia's DLSS 5, which has caused a bit of a storm over how it appears to actually change a game's assets, lighting and the appearances of characters. PSSR and QSSR sharpen the existing visuals.

Get the Creative Bloq Newsletter

Sign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

Mike Fitzgerald, head of technology at Insomniac Games, says "QSSR adds more pixel-level clarity and stability to our environments, bringing out extra detail amidst the busy streets of Madripoor, the dense alleyways of Shinjuku, and many other areas across Logan’s epic journey".

It remains to be seen how soon QSSR will be adopted by other developers and to what extent it will be applies to the PS5's back catalogue, but for now PS5 owners can be optimistic that they no longer have cause to be too envious of the Pro. People aren't going to forgive Sony for its decision to kill physical discs, but it's very welcome to see a manufacturer upgrade the features of a previous console almost six years after release when a newer, more expensive successor is already on the market.