Resident Evil Requiem has arrived on the release calendar with more than just zombies and scares. Capcom's new survival horror game has quietly become the first real showcase of the PSSR upscaling technology updated on PS5 Pro, one of Sony's big technical bets for its most powerful console.
After several weeks of rumors and veiled hints, especially following Digital Foundry's analysis, Sony has finally lifted the curtain: The new generation of PSSR is now official and launches precisely with Resident Evil RequiemFrom here, the company is preparing a progressive rollout that will affect dozens of games and, if everything goes according to plan, will mark a significant leap in the visual quality of PS5 Pro.
What is the new PS5 Pro PSSR and what's different from the previous version?
Sony itself has confirmed through the official PlayStation blog that this is indeed the case. a deep update of PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution)The AI-powered upscaling technology designed specifically for PS5 Pro. To date, this system has already been used to increase the resolution in more than fifty games, but with mixed results and some criticism from technical analysts.
This new iteration, which many have already become accustomed to calling PSSR 2 or PSSR 2.0It's not a simple tweak: Sony emphasizes that both the neural network and the image processing algorithm have been revised. The goal is clear: to offer quality that It approaches native 4K even starting from much lower resolutions, such as 1080pwhile maintaining or improving performance.
According to official information, the system analyzes the image pixel by pixel It uses temporal data (information from previous frames) to reconstruct a sharper and more stable frame. This should result in fewer artifacts typical of other upscaling techniques, such as flickering in fine lines, noise in dark scenes, or trails behind moving objects.
Where the original PSSR could previously show inconsistencies between games, Sony now claims that The new version aims to offer more consistent performance across the entire compatible catalog. In other words, PS5 Pro users will get a more predictable visual experience without depending so much on how each studio has implemented the technology.
Project Amethyst: the alliance with AMD behind the new PSSR
One of the keys to this evolution lies in Project Amethyst, the collaboration program between Sony and AMD focused on AI-powered scaling technologies. The company itself explains that the algorithm and neural network of the new PSSR are a direct result of this collaborative work with the graphics card manufacturer that powers the console.
The PC connection is obvious. Sony explicitly mentions it. the relationship between this update and technology AMD FSR 4which has already shown its potential on computers. On consoles, however, the approach is different: here it's not so much about offering multiple configurations as on PC, but about making the most of closed hardware with the most finely tuned solution possible.
Jack Huynh, an AMD executive, emphasized that this shared vision is intended to achieve higher resolutions and more stable frame rates on PS5 Pro. For Sony, the revamped PSSR is an important part of its strategy: on a console where you can't change the graphics card like on a PC, Advanced upscaling becomes a key tool for competing in image quality with the high-end GPUs on the market.
The company also insists that Technology doesn't stay the same.The PSSR will receive an additional refinement period of at least six months focused on the PS5 Pro. This suggests that what we're seeing now with Resident Evil Requiem could be just the beginning of a longer journey.
How it improves the image: sharper, smoother motion and more stable ray tracing
Digital Foundry, a leading source for technical analysis, has already thoroughly tested the new PSSR's performance in Resident Evil Requiem. While more compatible games are still pending, their initial findings suggest... a remarkable leap in quality compared to the original PSSRto the point that, in their tests, they found it difficult to distinguish whether the resolution was native or upscaled on a large screen.
On one hand, there is talk of a measurable increase in sharpnessEspecially in fine details like cables, metal grates, or complex structures, which now show less vibration and blurriness during camera movements. This was one of the areas where the old PSSR was weakest, sometimes producing a kind of "glow" or flicker in thin lines.
Another area where improvements have been focused is movement. The new algorithm works to reduce the ghosting effect, those trails or traces left by objects as they moveAnd to better stabilize the image in fast pans. In a game as dynamic and tense as Resident Evil Requiem, that visual clarity can make the difference between an immersive scene and one full of distractions.
There are also changes in the treatment of dark scenes and areas with a lot of visual noiseThis is especially important in a survival horror game where lighting is part of the very design of the fear. The new PSSR handles contrast and grain better, reducing artifacts and improving clarity without losing the eerie atmosphere the game aims for.
All of this also holds true when the ray tracingSony and technical analysts agree that now The consistency between modes with and without ray tracing is greater, with fewer quality fluctuations and a more solid final image in both cases.
Resident Evil Requiem: the first game to launch on the new PSSR
Capcom has been in charge of inaugurating this stage with Resident Evil Requiem, ninth main installment of the sagaThe game, which is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with a specially enhanced version for PS5 Pro, is set once again in Raccoon City, thirty years after its destruction, and introduces a new protagonist, Grace Ashcroft, an FBI agent investigating a series of deaths at a hotel marked by a personal tragedy.
From a purely technical standpoint, the Japanese studio has focused on making the new PSSR noticeable at first glance. Masaru Ijuin, senior lead for engine development support at Capcom, explains that They have used this technology to enhance the expressiveness and level of detail of the RE Engine, the company's graphics engine.
A concrete example is in the representation of the characters' hair and beardsIjuin explains that in Requiem, each strand of hair is rendered as an independent polygon, reacting naturally to body movement and wind, and changing its appearance depending on how the light hits it. This type of fine texture used to cause many problems when scaling the image, resulting in flickering or blurring; with the new PSSR, Capcom claims to have been able to maintain that level of detail without compromising visual stability.
The result, according to the study itself, is a degree of visual fidelity that directly aids immersion in the terrorBy reducing the flaws associated with upscaling, the player can focus on the atmosphere and tension of the game without being constantly pulled out of the experience by on-screen artifacts.
Digital Foundry, for its part, has highlighted that Resident Evil Requiem is one of the titles that They make better use of the PS5 Pro hardware. till the date, with modes capable of reaching 120 fps and options that maintain 60 fps even with ray tracing enabled, something especially relevant in the European market where 4K TVs with high refresh rates have become widespread in recent years.
PS5 Pro update, more compatible games, and what players can expect
Sony isn't just using Resident Evil Requiem as its showcase. The company has announced that, over the next few weeks, The new version of PSSR will be rolled out globally on PS5 Pro, with a direct impact on around fifty games that already used the previous technology.
The plan involves publishing a system software update for PS5 Pro which will add a specific option to the settings menu: “Improve PSSR Image Quality”. By activating it, the user will be able to apply the new upscaling algorithms. to any title that already has PSSR support without the need for the responsible studio to release a dedicated patch, at least in theory.
Mark Cerny, lead architect of the PS5 and PS5 Pro, has indicated that it will be More details about games that will take advantage of the enhanced PSSR will be released in March. And when users can experience the visual changes in their library for themselves through the aforementioned system update. The launch window for this revamped PSSR, initially targeted for the first months of 2026, therefore remains on schedule.
For those who already own a PS5 Pro in Spain or any other European country, this means that Resident Evil Requiem is already functioning as a "technical demo" This is a preview of what's to come, and similar improvements will be seen in other compatible titles within weeks. It's not a new console or a hardware upgrade, but rather a significant boost to the machine's offering at a time when graphical competition is particularly fierce.
Behind the scenes, all this activity also serves to polish the weak points of the original PSSRwhich in some games had generated notable criticism, as in the case of the Silent Hill 2 remake. Sony implicitly admits that there was room for improvement and, with this new version, seeks to correct a good part of those problems of artifacts, noise and lack of consistency between titles.
With this context in mind, the situation becomes quite clear: Resident Evil Requiem has become the calling card for the new PS5 Pro PSSRThis demonstrates the potential of combining AI upscaling with an advanced engine like the RE Engine. From here, it remains to be seen how other compatible games will perform and to what extent European players will perceive the "leap in quality" that Sony and its technical partners are promising for the coming months.
