Now here's something nobody saw coming. And yet here we are. The base PS5 (the standard model, that is) has just picked up a technical feature that was until now reserved for its big sister (the PS5 Pro), and plenty of players will be delighted. Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced QSSR (Quick Spectral Super Resolution), a new AI-assisted upscaling technology that borrows the principle behind the PS5 Pro's PSSR to improve image sharpness and stability. The first two games to benefit are Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yotei, which have received an update adding the new graphics option as of now.
QSSR, PSSR, SOS
Cast your mind back: when the PS5 Pro launched, PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) was one of Sony's big selling points, since it improves how games look by analysing images pixel by pixel using artificial intelligence (the same idea as NVIDIA's DLSS). The goal is to reconstruct an image that's more detailed and more stable than anything traditional upscaling methods can manage. Until now, the sheer processing power the technology demands prevented Sony from offering an equivalent on the standard PS5. But it's possible at last, and this QSSR business is the answer to that limitation. Sony explains that it has simplified the architecture of the neural network the technology uses and optimised the way it works to make the most of the standard PS5's capabilities. The result is a less ambitious version than PSSR, but it still lets the base PS5 give its visuals a boost. QSSR obviously won't replace PSSR, but it does let the standard PS5 enjoy a slice of those advances too. That said, Sony is keen to point out that PSSR remains the benchmark technology on PS5 Pro.
The difference can already be seen in Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yotei, then, and in both cases QSSR mainly improves the precision of fine detail and the stability of the image, with the gains especially noticeable on distant elements in the environments. So don't expect a radical transformation in graphical quality, but rather an improvement you'll spot when comparing the two methods directly. Insomniac Games has said that QSSR in Marvel's Wolverine delivers more sharpness and stability across the game's environments, while Sucker Punch reckons the technology helps Ghost of Yotei render the fine details of characters and scenery more faithfully. Sony is therefore planning to make the technology available to other studios, which means that in time QSSR could gradually turn up in more PS5 games, particularly in PlayStation studio productions. Fingers crossed, then.
