PS5 QSSR: What Sony’s New Upscaling Feature Shows

Sony’s Quick Spectral Super Resolution (QSSR) brings AI upscaling to PS5, but it doesn’t guarantee better performance in every game. Early independent testing suggests image-quality improvements are possible, though results vary by game and graphics mode.

What is QSSR?

Sony describes QSSR as a new AI-upscaling option developed through Project Amethyst, its graphics collaboration with AMD. The company says it uses a streamlined neural-network architecture and a hand-tuned PS5 implementation.

The first games Sony named are Marvel’s Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei. Both received updates offering QSSR as an additional graphics option. It isn’t a system-wide setting that automatically applies to every PS5 game; developers need to support it in their games.

QSSR is also distinct from PSSR, which Sony describes as its gold standard on PS5 Pro. Public details about how QSSR works internally remain limited.

What do the early tests show?

Digital Foundry’s October 1 hands-on testing covered the two announced games. Its early assessment found a more noticeable image-quality improvement in Wolverine and a more modest one in Yōtei. Results also depended on the graphics mode being tested.

That’s useful evidence, but it’s not a verdict on every game. The testing covered two titles and selected modes, not a broad survey of PS5 games. Sony’s descriptions of image-quality improvements are company claims; Digital Foundry’s testing provides independent, early observations.

A tool, not a magic upgrade

My take in this is that software optimization may help developers get more from practical hardware. QSSR offers an early example worth watching, but it doesn’t prove that AI upscaling will always improve image quality or frame rates.

Nor does QSSR remove the need for capable hardware, memory, or careful development. The useful question as more games adopt it will be: what does QSSR improve in this game, in this mode, and at what trade-off?

What matters more to you in a PS5 graphics option: clearer image quality, steadier performance, or the choice to balance both?