Artificial intelligence is set to play an increasingly significant role for Sony in the coming years. This shift is already evident with the PS5 Pro, which supports PSSR, an AI-based upscaler designed to produce sharper images from lower-resolution games.
Looking ahead, another key function is expected to arrive: According to PS5 architect Mark Cerny, Frame Generation will also make its way to PlayStation platforms. This technology could theoretically double all framerates, but it also presents a significant potential drawback that raises concerns.
Mark Cerny Confirms Work on Frame Generation for PlayStation
Tech experts at Digital Foundry had the opportunity to ask the PS5 architect several questions regarding the new PSSR technology. This feature, released recently, has performed exceptionally well in many games.
The interview not only covered the technology behind PSSR but also the future of AI implementations in PlayStation games. Cerny indicated that Frame Generation is planned for a future Sony console.
What is Frame Generation? This technique uses AI to double the number of displayed frames in a game. It achieves this by inserting AI-generated images between two real frames, thereby making the gameplay experience feel smoother.
According to Cerny, Sony and AMD have already co-developed FSR Frame Generation for PC graphics cards, and this technology is intended to be adapted for consoles:
“FSR Frame Generation is a co-developed technology. I’m very pleased with how that work is progressing, and an equivalent Frame Generation library should also be available on PlayStation platforms.”
However, no release is planned for this year; instead, it might launch with the PS6 or potentially even the PS5 Pro.
Frame Generation Also Has a Downside, and It’s Already a Cause for Worry
The image quality of current Frame Generation models, such as DLSS 4.5 and FSR Redstone, is now very good; users typically have to look very closely to detect AI artifacts.
However, the situation is somewhat different when it comes to latency. To generate an AI frame, a rendered frame must be delayed, leading to increased lag between controller input and the desired action appearing on screen.
Hardware Unboxed measured an additional latency of nearly 33 percent for a doubling of framerate via DLSS 4.0. GamersNexus found values between 10 to 33 percent for FSR Redstone, depending on the output framerate, though Redstone showed higher variance and could exceed 33 percent.
Without Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), for a fixed framerate target, latency can even more than double, as the graphics unit then has to wait longer for fresh frames. Consequently, games can feel very “floaty” without a suitable VRR-enabled television.
Furthermore, we must wait to see how well Sony’s implementation ultimately performs and what hardware it will run on. Frame Generation benefits from stronger AI components, meaning it would perform better on a PS6 than on a PS5 Pro. Nevertheless, the fundamental concept of delaying real frames will not change, even with the most powerful console.
I am not the biggest fan of Frame Generation, as I prefer low latency over a seemingly higher framerate. This is especially true because I primarily play fast-paced action games, Soulslikes, and online shooters, genres where every frame and every millisecond matters.
Moreover, I remain skeptical about how Frame Generation will be utilized by the broad spectrum of game studios. In this console generation, techniques like PSSR and FSR have faced criticism for masking performance issues at the cost of image quality.
And Frame Generation could fall into the same trap: Will framerate dips simply be smoothed out with AI? “Black Myth: Wukong,” for example, attempted this with a non-AI-based Frame Generation variant on the PS5, and for me, it felt far from ideal.
Thus, there is a concern that Frame Generation might bring significant disadvantages that could subtly infiltrate many games.
What are your thoughts on Frame Generation? Is a fluid visual experience more important to you, or a latency-free gameplay feel?