Sony Launches QSSR AI Upscaling for Base PS5, Bringing Pro-Level Graphics to Standard Consoles

Reviewed byNidhi Govil

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Sony introduced Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR), bringing AI upscaling to the base PS5 for the first time. Developed through Project Amethyst collaboration with AMD, the technology delivers notable image quality improvements without requiring hardware upgrades. Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei receive patches today as the first games to support QSSR.

Sony Democratizes AI Upscaling Technology for Base PS5

Sony has launched Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR), bringing AI-powered upscaling technology to the base PS5 for the first time

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. This marks a shift in console gaming, as AI upscaling was previously exclusive to the PS5 Pro and high-end PC graphics cards. The technology emerged from Project Amethyst, Sony's collaboration with AMD, and represents what the company describes as "a new performance tier of AI upscaling"

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. Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei received patches today, becoming the first titles to offer QSSR as an additional graphics option on PS5

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Source: IGN

Source: IGN

Technical Architecture Behind QSSR Implementation

QSSR employs a streamlined neural network architecture specifically optimized for the base PS5's hardware constraints

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. Unlike PSSR on PS5 Pro, which benefits from dedicated machine learning silicon supporting INT8 math, QSSR relies on FP16 math and hand-tuned implementation to maximize performance

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. Daniel Craig, Sony's principal graphics R&D engineer, explained that PS5 Pro developers almost uniformly output to 4K and adjust render resolution beneath it, while PS5 teams must be more flexible, tuning render resolution alongside intermediate and final presentation targets depending on graphics mode

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. The performance cost ranges between 1.5 to 1.8 milliseconds per frame, which Digital Foundry considers reasonable for machine-learning-based upscaling on hardware without ML acceleration

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Performance Analysis Reveals Mixed Results

Digital Foundry's testing of Marvel's Wolverine showed an exceptional quality boost, though with a frame rate drop of approximately 8 to 10 fps in uncapped Performance Mode

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. However, the visual improvements justify this trade-off. QSSR upscales Wolverine from approximately 936p to 1440p, producing cleaner images than the previous 1080p to 1440p upscaling

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. Mike Fitzgerald, head of technology at Insomniac Games, noted that 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"

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. Ghost of Yōtei saw less dramatic improvements due to its already impressive image quality, with performance remaining practically identical and frame dips being slight and imperceptible

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Source: GamesRadar

Source: GamesRadar

Visual Improvements Over Traditional Methods

QSSR delivers significantly higher image quality compared to earlier upscaling methods used in console games, such as TAA or AMD FSR 3

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. Side-by-side comparisons demonstrate that QSSR reduces shimmering, ghosting, and other distortions common in PS5 games

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. The technology excels at resolving fine details in characters and environments while maintaining temporal stability that wasn't previously possible on the base PS5

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. Jasmin Patry, Lead Rendering Engineer at Sucker Punch Productions, emphasized that "QSSR excels at resolving the fine details in our characters and environments and does so with a level of temporal stability that hasn't been possible on the PS5 console until now"

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. While PSSR remains the gold standard on PS5 Pro, QSSR provides notable improvements to both image detail and image stability on base PS5

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Source: TweakTown

Source: TweakTown

Developer Accessibility and Future Adoption

Sony confirmed that QSSR will be offered broadly to all PlayStation developers, not limited to first-party studios

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. Craig revealed that QSSR is fundamentally a drop-in replacement for titles that already support PSSR, requiring only a few days of tuning

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. This streamlined implementation process increases the likelihood that PS5 developers will adopt the technology, allowing more games to benefit from AI upscaling without extensive development resources

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. Digital Foundry emphasized the remarkable potential, noting that low resolution and poor upscaling have impacted many titles in this generation, but QSSR could make a big difference

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. The technology allows developers to balance rendering resolution, performance, and image quality on aging console hardware

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, potentially extending the PS5's competitive lifespan against newer gaming platforms and high-end PC configurations featuring Nvidia DLSS or AMD FSR 4

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