It's Official: Resident Evil Requiem Uses Sony's Brand-New PSSR Upscaler

 

# It's Official: Resident Evil Requiem Uses Sony's Brand-New PSSR Upscaler

**Published: February 28, 2026**

You know that feeling when you're playing a horror game, and you notice something so detailed it actually makes you stop and stare?

Maybe it's a strand of hair catching the light just right. Or the way a jacket fabric looks so real you can almost feel it.

That's the level of detail Capcom and Sony are talking about with Resident Evil Requiem—the ninth mainline entry in the survival horror franchise, released yesterday to critical acclaim . And it's not just a great game. It's a technical showcase for something brand new under the hood.

Sony has confirmed that Resident Evil Requiem is the first game to use an upgraded version of its PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaler on PS5 Pro . This isn't just a minor tweak. It's a fundamental overhaul of the AI upscaling technology, born from Sony's partnership with AMD on Project Amethyst .

Let me walk you through what this means, why it matters, and whether you should care about pixels and frame rates if you just want to survive whatever horrors await in the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center .

---

## The Short Version: What You Need to Know

**The game:** Resident Evil Requiem (Resident Evil 9) launched February 27, 2026, on PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, and PC .

**The technology:** Sony has rolled out an upgraded version of PSSR, its AI-powered upscaling technology exclusive to PS5 Pro . Resident Evil Requiem is the first game to feature it .

**The upgrade:** The new PSSR represents a "very different approach" to both the neural network and the overall algorithm, according to PS5 lead architect Mark Cerny . It's the result of Sony's Project Amethyst collaboration with AMD, with an additional six months of refinement specifically for PS5 Pro .

**The difference:** Early tests from Digital Foundry show the new PSSR dramatically closes the gap with NVIDIA's DLSS 4.5 and AMD's FSR 4 . The handling of fine details like hair and fabric textures is significantly improved over the original PSSR .

**What's coming:** A March system update will allow PS5 Pro owners to enable "Enhance PSSR Image Quality" in settings, applying the new upscaling to any game that already supports PSSR .

---

## What Is PSSR, and Why Does It Matter?

Before we get into the details of the upgrade, let's make sure we're on the same page about what PSSR actually is.

PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) is Sony's AI-powered upscaling technology, exclusive to PS5 Pro . It's similar in concept to NVIDIA's DLSS or AMD's FSR—techniques that render a game at a lower resolution (which is easier on the hardware) and then use AI to intelligently upscale it to a higher resolution, like 4K, while maintaining image quality .

**Why this matters:** Modern games, especially those with ray tracing, are incredibly demanding. Running them at native 4K with high frame rates is difficult even on powerful PCs. Upscaling is the solution that lets you have both visual fidelity and smooth performance.

**The original PSSR** launched with PS5 Pro and supported over 50 titles . But it had issues. Early adopters complained about blurry images and inconsistent performance . In some cases, games actually looked worse on PS5 Pro than on the base PS5 .

**The new PSSR** is designed to fix all that.

---

## The Upgrade: What's New

Mark Cerny himself announced the upgrade in a PlayStation Blog post, and his words are worth paying attention to.

"We've been hard at work on a new version of PSSR, which takes a very different approach to not only the neural network but also the overall algorithm," Cerny said . "We are happy to share that Resident Evil Requiem — shipping today — is the first title to use this more advanced PSSR, which is helping to keep both frame rate and image quality high" .

**The technical foundation:** This new PSSR comes from Sony's Project Amethyst partnership with AMD. The same underlying technology powers AMD's FSR 4 on PC . But Sony has spent an additional six months refining it specifically for PS5 Pro .

**What that means:** The new PSSR is essentially a console-optimized version of cutting-edge upscaling tech that PC gamers are just starting to experience.

**The patent angle:** A recently surfaced Sony patent reveals some of the thinking behind PSSR 2.0. The system can dynamically scale the AI's precision based on what's happening on screen . In complex scenes with explosions or many characters, it slightly lowers precision to maintain frame rate. When the load drops, precision comes back up for maximum clarity .

This means games don't need to drop internal resolution to keep performance stable—a massive breakthrough for console gaming.

---

## What Capcom Says: Hair, Fabric, and Immersion

Here's where it gets really interesting. Capcom's Masaru Ijuin, Senior Manager of Engine Development Support, explained how the upgraded PSSR allowed the team to push visual fidelity further than ever before .

"With Resident Evil Requiem, we focused on enhancing the presentation quality of the protagonist through an upgraded version of RE Engine to deepen the player's immersion in horror," Ijuin said .

Then he got into the technical details that make graphics nerds like me sit up and take notice:

"For example, each individual strand of hair and beard is rendered as a polygon, allowing it to move realistically in response to body motion and wind. The way light passes through his hair changes depending on how the strands of hair are overlapped as well. This detailed expression of texture is one of the many details that we would especially love for our fans to see" .

**The challenge:** These kinds of fine details—individual strands of hair, complex fabric textures—are notoriously difficult to upscale. Traditional upscaling methods often turn them into a blurry mess.

**The solution:** "The upgraded PSSR has allowed us to elevate our expressiveness by successfully processing these details and textural particularities, which are traditionally difficult to upscale because of their intricacy" .

Sony published comparison screenshots showing the original PSSR next to the new version. The difference is subtle but real—strands of hair look slightly more defined, edges sharper .

---

## The Digital Foundry Analysis: Closing the Gap

If you follow game technology, you know Digital Foundry is the gold standard for analysis. Their early testing of Resident Evil Requiem and the new PSSR is glowing.

**The headline:** PSSR 2 is a "huge leap" forward, successfully closing the gap with NVIDIA's DLSS 4.5 and AMD's FSR 4 .

**Key findings:**

- **Visual accuracy:** The new PSSR approaches DLSS 4.5 in visual precision, a massive improvement over the original version .

- **Compared to FSR 4:** PSSR 2 actually outperforms FSR 4 in some areas, particularly in handling glare and ghosting effects .

- **Image quality:** The new version is sharper and more stable than the original, eliminating much of the blur that plagued early PSSR titles .

- **The verdict:** What was once the PS5 Pro's biggest weakness has now become one of its core strengths .

One Chinese tech site put it bluntly: "The first-generation PSSR was so blurry it was worse than the base PS5—now that situation has been completely reversed" .

---

## How Resident Evil Requiem Performs on PS5 Pro

All this tech talk is great, but what does it actually mean for playing the game?

Digital Foundry's performance analysis of Resident Evil Requiem gives us the answer .

**On PS5 Pro, players have two options:**

| **Mode** | **Target** | **Ray Tracing** | **Resolution** | **Performance** |

| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |

| **Quality Mode** | 60 fps | Full ray tracing enabled | Upscaled from ~1080p to sharp 4K using new PSSR | Rock solid 60 fps with minimal drops in complex scenes |

| **Performance Mode** | 120 fps | Ray tracing disabled | Lower quality upscaling (reminiscent of FSR 1) | Frame rate less stable, often dropping to 90s |

**The verdict:** Quality Mode is the way to play. You get beautiful ray-traced lighting and incredibly sharp image quality, all at a steady 60 fps. As one reviewer put it, the PS5 Pro version "shines" and is "one of the best enhanced games for the system" .

**Compared to other consoles:**

- **PS5 and Xbox Series X:** Run like the PS5 Pro's 120 fps mode—no ray tracing, locked frame rate .

- **Xbox Series S:** Runs at a basic 720p resolution with simplified hair models .

The gap between PS5 Pro and the competition is substantial. This is the first game where the Pro's extra power truly delivers on its promise .

---

## The March Update: PSSR for Everyone

Here's the really good news for PS5 Pro owners.

Sony is rolling out a system software update in March that will include a new setting: **"Enhance PSSR Image Quality"** .

**What this means:** If you enable this setting, any game that already supports PSSR will automatically use the new, improved version . No patches required. No waiting for developers to update their games.

Mark Cerny's advice: "Once the system update releases next month, try it and see, some games may have noticeably crisper graphics" .

This is huge. It means dozens of existing PS5 Pro games could see a visual boost overnight. Games that launched with disappointing PSSR implementation could suddenly look much better .

**Which games?** Sony hasn't announced the list yet, but any of the 50+ games that currently support PSSR could benefit .

---

## The Bigger Picture: Project Amethyst and Cross-Platform Tech

This PSSR upgrade isn't happening in isolation. It's part of a larger story about Sony and AMD working together.

**Project Amethyst** is a multi-year collaboration between Sony and AMD focused on machine learning and graphics technologies . The goal is to develop architectures and solutions that benefit both console and PC gamers.

Jack Huynh, AMD's computing and graphics general manager, congratulated Sony on the PSSR launch and revealed that the same technology will appear in AMD's FSR 4 on PC in the coming months .

**What this means:**

- PC gamers with AMD GPUs will eventually get the same upscaling tech that PS5 Pro owners are enjoying now

- Games developed for PS5 Pro will be easier to optimize for PC, and vice versa

- The tech cycle between console and PC becomes a virtuous circle, with both sides benefiting

As one tech site put it, this cross-platform partnership "builds a virtuous cycle in the industry, achieving two-way benefits for both consoles and PCs" .

---

## What This Means for Different People

### If You Own a PS5 Pro

This is your moment. The console finally has its killer app. Resident Evil Requiem is not only a great game (IGN gave it 9/10) but also a stunning showcase of what the hardware can do . And with the March update, many other games will get a visual boost too.

### If You're Still on Base PS5 or Xbox

You're still getting a great experience. Digital Foundry's analysis shows that the game runs well on all platforms . You just won't get the ray tracing and extra sharpness that Pro owners enjoy.

### If You're a PC Gamer

You'll eventually benefit from this technology through AMD's FSR 4. The same upscaling tech that's making PS5 Pro games look stunning is coming to PC.

### If You're a Graphics Enthusiast

This is genuinely exciting. We're watching console technology catch up to—and in some ways surpass—what's available on PC. The gap between platforms is narrowing, and that's good for everyone who loves games.

---

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: What is Resident Evil Requiem?**

A: It's the ninth mainline Resident Evil game, following the events of Resident Evil 7 and 8. It launched February 27, 2026, on PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, and PC .

**Q: What is PSSR?**

A: PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution is Sony's AI-powered upscaling technology, exclusive to PS5 Pro. It uses machine learning to render games at lower resolutions and upscale them to 4K while maintaining image quality .

**Q: How is the new PSSR different from the original?**

A: The new version represents a "very different approach" to both the neural network and the overall algorithm . It's based on Sony's Project Amethyst collaboration with AMD and has been refined for six months specifically for PS5 Pro .

**Q: Is the upgrade noticeable?**

A: Yes. Early tests show the new PSSR dramatically improves image quality, especially in fine details like hair and fabric textures . Digital Foundry says it successfully closes the gap with NVIDIA's DLSS 4.5 .

**Q: Will other games get this upgrade?**

A: Yes. Sony will release a system update in March that adds an "Enhance PSSR Image Quality" setting. Any game that currently supports PSSR will automatically use the new version when this setting is enabled .

**Q: How does Resident Evil Requiem perform on PS5 Pro?**

A: In Quality Mode, it runs at a rock-solid 60 fps with full ray tracing, upscaled from ~1080p to sharp 4K. In Performance Mode, it targets 120 fps without ray tracing .

**Q: Is the game good?**

A: Yes. IGN gave it 9/10, calling it a "watershed work" that reconciles two long-opposed visions of the franchise . It's already Steam's biggest Resident Evil launch ever .

**Q: Do I need a PS5 Pro to play?**

A: No. The game is available on base PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The Pro version just offers enhanced visuals and performance .

**Q: What's Project Amethyst?**

A: It's a multi-year collaboration between Sony and AMD focused on machine learning and graphics technologies . The same tech powers the new PSSR on PS5 Pro and will appear in AMD's FSR 4 on PC .

---

## The Bottom Line

Here's what I keep coming back to.

When PS5 Pro launched, a lot of people—including me—wondered whether the extra $200 was worth it. The performance gains were real, but the visual improvements were often subtle. The upscaling tech had issues. It felt like a console waiting for its moment.

That moment has arrived.

Resident Evil Requiem is not just a great game. It's a showcase for what PS5 Pro can do when everything clicks. The new PSSR upscaler, born from Sony's partnership with AMD, finally delivers on the promise of AI-enhanced console gaming. Hair that looks like hair. Fabric you can almost feel. Lighting that feels real.

**Mark Cerny** and his team have been working on this for months. The result is a technology that closes the gap with the best PC upscalers and gives PS5 Pro a genuine reason to exist.

**For PS5 Pro owners,** this is validation. Your console just became the best place to play one of the year's biggest games.

**For everyone else,** it's a glimpse of where console gaming is headed. AI upscaling is no longer a PC-only luxury. It's becoming standard, and it's making games look better than ever.

Resident Evil Requiem is out now. If you have a PS5 Pro, fire it up, enable Quality Mode, and prepare to be impressed.

---

*Got thoughts on the new PSSR? Playing Resident Evil Requiem? Drop a comment and let me know.*