A video published on the official PlayStation YouTube channel has sparked a renewed wave of speculation about when we can expect to see the next console from Sony. The video is an introduction to ‘Project Amethyst’, a joint project between Sony and AMD, and features several indications of what new technology can bring to future consoles.
The video is presented by Mark Cerny of Sony, lead designer of the PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation Vita. Beside him was Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President & General Manager Computing and Graphics Group at AMD. The video was primarily an introduction to Project Amethyst, a long-term collaboration intended to introduce new technologies to optimise and improve games.
Mark Cerny confirmed that AMD’s FSR 4 tool suite will be implemented on the PlayStation 5 Pro in order to take advantage of new ‘AI acceleration’ hardware. Longer-term goals involve creating new hardware architecture to better implement machine-learning technologies such as frame generation, real-time ray tracing and path tracing.
This technology will contribute insights and developments that can then be used not only for AMD graphics cards, but also for future Sony consoles. Huynh confirmed three named technologies which will form the basis of AMD’s next line of RDNA GPUs. The first is the Radiance Cores, which are new hardware designed specifically for better ray and path tracing. The second is Neural Arrays, which consists of clusters of compute units designed to work as a unified AI engine, delivering improved upscaling and rendering for FSR and ‘PlayStation Super Resolution’ or PSSR. The third is Universal Compression, which reduces memory bandwidth by utilising real-time data compression.
Near the end of the video, Cerny acknowledges that these technologies are still in fairly early development, with many of them existing only in simulation at this point in time. However, Cerny goes on to say that he’s excited about: “bringing them to a future console in a few years’ time.”
This small comment has sparked that wave of excitement and speculation. Many are pointing to 2028 as the release date for the PlayStation 6, backed up by other vague comments made by Sony executives. While a new console is very likely to be in development, it is far too early to say with any certainty when it might arrive.
