PlayStation fans have been given the inside scoop on the PS5.
In a shock next-gen PlayStation 5 reveal, Sony has detailed the console’s specs and other details.
Speaking to Wired, system architect Mark Cerny said that the new console – which hasn’t officially been named the PS5 – won’t have a 2019 release date.
The current rumours suggest that it will launch in March 2020, so fingers crossed we’ll find out soon.
According to Cerny, the PS5 is more of a revolution than an evolution, although it will share some internal similarties with the PS4.
This means that despite being much faster and more powerful, the next-gen PlayStation will also be backwards compatible with the PS4.
It will also support 8K visuals and will feature must faster loading times.
It’s all possible due to a custom Radeon Navi GPU, not to mention a CPU based on the third generation of AMD’s Ryzel line.
“The CPU is based on the third generation of AMD’s Ryzen line and contains eight cores of the company’s new 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture,” the Wired post explains.
“The GPU, a custom variant of Radeon’s Navi family, will support ray tracing, a technique that models the travel of light to simulate complex interactions in 3D environments.
“While ray tracing is a staple of Hollywood visual effects and is beginning to worm its way into $10,000 high-end processors, no game console has been able to manage it. Yet.”
The AMD unit is also said to feature a custom chip for 3D audio, which is said to add far greater immersion.
But according to the post, Cerny is most excited about the changes to the hard drive.
The console will reportedly have a specialised solid-state drive, which will make loading times much faster.
In Spider-Man on a PS4 Pro, for example, it can take upwards of 15 seconds to fast travel from one location to another. The PS5, on the other hand, will be able to handle the same task in less than a second.
Worlds can also be rendered at far greater speeds, which should inject more pace into games.
Existing PlayStation VR devices will also work with the new console, although Sony is believed to also be working on a successor.
Likewise, it’s suggested that some upcoming PS4 games – like Death Stranding – will also launch on the PlayStation 5.