New Sony Patent Reveals Plans To "Accelerate" Ray-Tracing On PS5

thegamer.com:

Sony is placing more focus on its ray-tracing capabilities according to a new filing by the company. Some eagle-eyed users have spotted a patent from the company which aims to improve ray tracing on the PlayStation 5. A smart move considering this feature is one of the biggest improvements and draws for the next-gen console.

A user on Twitter, @Onion00048, drew attention to the patent filing earlier this week. According to a tweet from them, “Sony Interactive Entertainment has filed a new patent that suggests the format holder is looking to optimize its ray-tracing effects on PS5.” They proceeded to offer more information on what the patent means for the company and who filed it. The official papers for the patent show that it was filed by Mark Cerny, an engineer and architect for the PS5. He is also the creator of the PS4 launch title Knack.

Related: Nvidia On How Ray Tracing Is Transforming Games Like Lego: The Builder’s Journey

The patent itself mentions “System and Method For Accelerated Ray Tracing and System And Method For Accelerated Ray Tracing With Asynchronous Operation And Ray Transformation.” In other words, this new methodology of implementing ray tracing would improve overall performance when the feature is turned on.

Ray tracing is one of the biggest draws for next-gen consoles, especially the PS5. It allows for more realistic light and reflection within games. However, the feature currently comes with a few drawbacks. When titles like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart are running in ray-tracing mode, they lose frame rates and play in lower resolutions. This is because ray tracing requires a significant amount of power to run.

Ray tracing requires such an immense amount of power to