Sony is bringing AI upscaling to the standard PS5
With Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR), the standard PS5 also receives AI-based upscaling. The technology is derived from PSSR on the PS5 Pro. Initial tests show better image quality, but QSSR places an additional load on the GPU.
Starting things off are «Marvel’s Wolverine» and «Ghost of Yōtei». Sony is equipping both games with QSSR via a patch. After the update, you can select the technology there as an additional graphics option. More games are set to follow.
QSSR reconstructs a higher-resolution image
With upscaling, the console initially calculates a game at a lower resolution. QSSR then reconstructs a higher-resolution image from that.
QSSR uses a neural network for this. Compared to conventional upscaling methods, Sony promises more detail and a more stable image. Fine structures, which might otherwise flicker or visibly lose detail during movement, are expected to benefit from this in particular.
Technically, QSSR is based on Playstation Spectral Super Resolution, or PSSR for short. Sony introduced this AI upscaling in 2024 with the PS5 Pro. However, the standard PS5 does not have the hardware specifically designed for machine learning found in the Pro model.
Sony has therefore adapted QSSR to the existing GPU. To do this, the company uses a leaner neural network and an optimized implementation. QSSR works primarily with FP16 calculations, whereas PSSR on the PS5 Pro can also utilize more efficient INT8 calculations.
Initial tests show advantages and limitations
How well this works has already been examined by Digital Foundry using «Marvel’s Wolverine». In performance mode, the game sometimes renders internally at 864p. QSSR reconstructs an image at 1440p from this.
According to the analysis, QSSR requires about 1.5 to 1.8 milliseconds of additional processing time per frame compared to Insomniac's previous upscaler. With an unlocked frame rate, this costs approximately eight to ten FPS. In the regular 60 FPS mode, however, «Marvel’s Wolverine» keeps the frame rate largely stable. To achieve this, the game lowers the internal resolution when necessary. According to Digital Foundry, QSSR still delivers more fine detail and a smoother image.
The computational effort is significantly higher for 4K output. Digital Foundry measures about 4.4 milliseconds of additional processing time per frame here. QSSR is therefore likely best suited for output resolutions around 1440p on the standard PS5.
With «Ghost of Yōtei», the difference is less pronounced. The game already uses AMD's FSR 3 and thus has comparatively good upscaling. According to Digital Foundry, QSSR achieves similar performance in the tested performance mode but renders fine details more stably.
The developers provide concrete examples of this. Insomniac Games points to the busy streets of Madripoor and the narrow alleys of Shinjuku, for instance. Sucker Punch highlights characters and environments in «Ghost of Yōtei».
Development in collaboration with AMD
QSSR was created as part of «Project Amethyst», a collaboration between Sony and AMD. Both companies want to use machine learning more extensively for graphics rendering in games.
Sony will make the QSSR library available to all Playstation developers in the future. For games that already support PSSR on the PS5 Pro, the transition is expected to be relatively simple. Sony engineer Daniel Craig speaks of a few days of fine-tuning.
However, existing PS5 games will not benefit from this automatically. Developers must integrate QSSR themselves in each case. Sony has not yet announced which titles will follow «Marvel’s Wolverine» and «Ghost of Yōtei».
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