Rumors surrounding the PlayStation 6 (PS6) suggest a massive leap in performance, particularly in ray tracing (RT). A post circulating on NeoGAF utilized performance data from Assassin’s Creed Shadows to analyze these claims. This analysis, conducted by leaker KeplerL2, focused on separating RT workloads from the total rendering cost to determine the real-world impact of the rumored 10x RT performance increase over the PlayStation 5 (PS5).
KeplerL2’s analysis highlighted that RT only accounts for a fraction of the total rendering workload. The source noted that on PS5, RT effects might consume roughly 5ms of a total frame time of approximately 30ms. Therefore, reducing this specific workload by 10x would only shave a few milliseconds from the overall frame time. This finding suggests that the proportionate in-game frame rate gains might not equal the raw technical performance jump.
Instead, the analysis concluded that the real-world performance boost might be closer to 3x overall, rather than 10x, because other components like rasterization, CPU processing, and post-processing still dominate the total rendering workload. The post stressed that boosting one component does not necessarily scale the entire frame equally.
However, the source added that future performance dynamics could change this balance. Future titles are expected to incorporate ray tracing and path tracing more heavily, which could significantly increase RT’s share of the total frame time. Furthermore, advancements in AI-powered upscaling, de-noising, and frame generation technologies are actively being explored by Sony and AMD.
Further discussion arose regarding the interpretation of AMD’s internal performance estimates. KeplerL2 addressed claims that the PS6 delivers 10x RT performance compared to the PS5. KeplerL2 explained that the performance gains would likely be closer to 3.10x, depending heavily on the amount of ray tracing utilized in a specific game. This figure applies especially to games that do not heavily rely on ray tracing.
KeplerL2 suggested that the initial premise of comparing the PS6’s potential 10x RT performance to a theoretical 5090 GPU is flawed, arguing that technical specs do not equate directly to an FPS comparison.
Another source mentioned that the PS5 Pro is advertised to be 2x to 3x faster than the PS5 in ray tracing performance. If this trend continues, the PS6 would theoretically be at least 4x faster, though this performance gain is subject to variation based on the specific game implemented.