Even without prices or official release dates, the hype for next-generation hardware ramps to its absolute zenith as the so-called holiday debut draws ever-closer. For Sony's PlayStation 5 specifically, all bets are placed on a modified and proprietary SSD, not to mention a radical controller redesign, dubbed DualSense, and 3D audio.
The folks at 4A Games, developers of the Metro series, have recently added their opinions to the ever-growing pot of talented and iconic industry names supporting Sony's PS5. Their favorite thing isn't audio, haptic feedback, or even faster loading, however. To 4A Games, the beauty of the PlayStation 5 is next-gen raytracing.
The Metro games themselves are some heavy hitters in the PC gaming space, but the now year-old Exodus even still to this day withstands the test of time for its reliance on RTX technology or, put simply, raytracing. Basically, this means is high levels of detail and fidelity in-game for things like reflections, shadows, and light transference. Nvidia has a terrific video showcasing the ways in which RTX is implemented into Metro Exodus, but it's more so what 4A Games has in store for the future that is most exciting.
In an interview with PlayStation Magazine (via PSU), 4A's Executive Producer John Bloch discusses his and his team's broad anticipation for the PlayStation 5's raytracing capabilities. Bloch says:
"We are fully committed to ray tracing moving forward, and to see that available on the PS5 is probably the biggest feature we’re excited about. The faster SSD will help a lot with player experience, but adding support for ray tracing is the sort of thing that to us shows a true generational leap in the hardware."
Acquired by Embracer earlier this month, 4A sets its sights on a variety of interesting new horizons, main among them being a multiplayer-supported Metro experience. With two alternative titles in the pipeline, coupled with its extreme adoration for working with PC hardware powerhouses (namely Nvidia), 4A Games will be sporting some spectacular-looking digital worlds in the next few years.
As for the PlayStation 5, the brand is expected to showcase a Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart demo at Gamescom this Thursday. Whether other next-gen platform news will be discussed aside from that game remains to be revealed, though some speculation points to a PS5 price point announcement, which sounds more like wishful thinking than anything else.
Time will only tell, and so too will the PS5 upon its inevitable launch.