PlayStation VR2 games will be upscaled by PS5 Pro after a future firmware update.
What Is PlayStation 5 Pro?
PlayStation 5 Pro was announced today by Sony as a higher-end version of PS5, launching on November 7 priced at $700. Preorders will open on September 26.
PS5 Pro has a 2TB SSD and features a 45% more powerful GPU with 2-3x faster ray tracing and PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), a neural upscaling technology similar to NVIDIA's DLSS.
Like NVIDIA's DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) on PC, PS5 Pro's PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) feature uses a neural network trained on gameplay footage to upscale games, with much higher quality results than traditional image upscaling techniques.
According to Sony in an interview with CNET, PSSR will work automatically with the entire flatscreen PlayStation game library. The same interview reveals that PSSR won't support VR games at launch, but will in a future firmware update which will "work with all VR games" - though there was no timeline given for this.
David Heaney
Some VR developers may choose to use PS5 Pro's 45% faster GPU to increase the frame rate of their graphically intensive PlayStation VR2 games from 60 to 90. This will avoid the unpleasant double-imaging artifacts of reprojection (PSVR 2 reprojects to 120Hz in 60 FPS mode) but may not provide a raw increase in resolution.
When PSSR is updated to work with VR though, these games will both look and feel better on PS5 Pro, since they'll be upscaled as well as running at higher resolution. And that combination could justify the console's record-breaking $700 price for some PlayStation VR2 owners.
