Sony and AMD collaboration, Project Amethyst, provides an update, showcasing enhanced, resource-saving advancements such as Super Resolution in FSR 4.
In a groundbreaking move, tech giants AMD and Sony have joined forces in a deep co-engineering effort known as Project Amethyst. This partnership, which began in 2023, is aimed at leveraging AI and machine learning to revolutionise gaming visuals and performance across both consoles and PC hardware.
The collaboration has already resulted in tangible advancements, such as the AI-based upscaling technology seen in FSR 4 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 4), which incorporates "smarter, more efficient solutions like Super Resolution." This technology is set to be a drop-in replacement for Sony's current PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) technology used in PS5 Pro consoles, due for implementation in 2026.
This upgrade promises to significantly improve graphical fidelity by using AI-driven upscaling techniques that reconstruct lower resolution images into near-native 4K quality with minimal performance cost. This allows developers to allocate more resources to frame rates and visual effects rather than raw resolution rendering, leading to better overall game experiences.
Crucially, the collaboration is not focused on proprietary technology exclusive to Sony consoles but is designed to push the entire industry forward. AMD publicly shares these advancements, meaning FSR 4 and its future iterations, such as the upcoming Redstone update featuring machine learning-based frame generation and ray regeneration, will benefit PC hardware users as well.
Mark Cerny, Sony’s lead architect, and Jack Huynh, AMD's senior vice president, have emphasised that this partnership combines AMD's RDNA graphics roadmap expertise with Sony's use of PSSR to create versatile machine learning architectures. This synergy aims to support a broad library of AI models, enabling game developers to further improve visual quality and performance.
The development of RDNA 5 (or its future name) is part of the ongoing collaboration between AMD and Sony, with Cerny's engineering work contributing significantly to its creation. The technologies developed by the collaboration are available to any of AMD's customers freely, fostering progressive improvements in both console and PC gaming ecosystems.
In summary, the AMD-Sony collaboration on Project Amethyst represents a pivotal evolution in graphics technology that will benefit gamers across both PlayStation and PC platforms. This collaboration signals a future where AI-powered rendering and upscaling become standard for efficient, high-quality visuals.
- The collaboration between AMD and Sony, known as Project Amethyst, is designed to push the entire gaming industry forward, providing tangible advancements like FSR 4 that incorporate smarter, more efficient solutions like Super Resolution.
- This technology, intended for implementation in 2026, will be a drop-in replacement for Sony's current PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) technology used in PS5 Pro consoles, revolutionizing graphical fidelity by using AI-driven upscaling techniques.
- AMD publicly shares these advancements, meaning FSR 4 and its future iterations, such as the upcoming Redstone update featuring machine learning-based frame generation and ray regeneration, will benefit not just PlayStation users but also PC hardware users.
- The synergy between AMD's RDNA graphics roadmap expertise and Sony's use of PSSR aims to support a broad library of AI models, enabling game developers to further improve visual quality and performance in both console and PC gaming.
- The ongoing collaboration between AMD and Sony, with Cerny's engineering work contributing significantly to the creation of technologies like RDNA 5, signifies a future where AI-powered rendering and upscaling become standard for efficient, high-quality visuals across smartphones, gadgets, and data-and-cloud-computing technology.