Sony deepens AMD partnership and lays out roadmap for AI-enhanced rendering on future PlayStation consoles

During Mark Cerny’s technical presentation today, Sony revealed more about its journey to design and build the newly released PlayStation 5 Pro and while doing so laid out a technology roadmap for future generations of the PlayStation console. At a similar technical presentation in the run up to the launch of the original PS5, Sony laid out details of its close collaboration with AMD to produce the necessary custom RDNA 2-based GPU and ray tracing capability of the console. This collaboration has continued with the development of PS5 Pro which started in earnest back in 2020. 

During the four years of development, Sony brought its expertise in both GPU architecture and rendering to bear to deliver a custom solution including technology that has yet to be used in AMD’s own PC GPUs. Sony confirmed that the PS5 Pro uses a custom RDNA 2.x GPU architecture (sitting somewhere between RDNA 2 and RDNA 3) that allows it to deliver more advanced ray tracing technologies and take advantage of Sony’s own PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) which is an AI-based upscaling solution that allows games to be delivered at both higher fidelity and higher frame rates. Sony decided to elevate some key aspects of its RDNA 2-based architecture from the original PS5, but quickly realised that it could not make a generational RDNA leap without impacting aspects such as software package support for both PS5 and PS5 Pro.    

Sony has also confirmed a deepening of its relationship with AMD on AI-based hardware, software and algorithms under the codename Amythest. The confirmation that this is a multi-year partnership underlines the strategic importance of this working relationship and its subject matter. It also provides a clearer roadmap of what comes after the PS5 Pro and heralds a new era of more open technological development from Sony. 

A clearer technology roadmap removes some of the magic of future console generations 

This technology presentation confirmed that Sony will continue on with its product strategy to deliver enhanced graphical fidelity, visual effects and higher frame rates with the introduction of the PlayStation 6, which has an expected launch window of late 2027 or 2028. The multi-year partnership suggests that this technology evolution will continue on with AMD architecture at its core. Having the technology roadmap laid out more clearly reduces a lot of the guess work around the future direction of Sony’s console hardware – we now know what will underpin its next-gen platform - which removes some of the magic surrounding the speculation of what a new console generation will bring.  

However, Sony also focuses on its idea of ‘New Dreams’ centred on technology innovation in other areas to bring specific experiences to its consoles. For the PS5 this includes the Dual Sense controller, 3D audio and the introduction of an ultra-fast SSD. How these areas and others are developed for future consoles including the PS6 remains to be seen.     

What is clear is that Sony sees much potential in improved graphical performance with future iterations of its PSSR technology alongside advanced ray tracing capabilities. 

The strategic significance of Sony and AMD’s deepening relationship 

This partnership is strategically significant as it strengthens both companies' ability to compete in an area which has substantial promise. AMD has lagged behind its key competitor Nvidia in terms of AI-based upscaling and was later to the race to build out ray tracing offerings. Working together, Sony and AMD will be better positioned to develop the technology that supports their core offerings, and which also flows into building IP and knowledge in AI and machine learning which offers significant potential.