During a live conference a few hours ago, Mark Cerny, architect of the PS5, spoke about Project Amethyst. This ambitious project sees Sony PlayStation and AMD join forces to revolutionize the future of video games thanks to artificial intelligence.
Project Amethyst
Sony and AMD are strengthening their partnership to develop innovative technologies based on artificial intelligence, intended to enrich the gaming experience. This collaborative project, called “Amethyst”, is part of a multi-year vision aimed at creating a new generation of graphics and gameplay tools, usable not only on PlayStation, but also on PC, cloud and other devices equipped with AMD hardware.
An ambitious project for the future of video games
According to Mark Cerny, lead architect of PS5 and PS5 Pro, Project Amethyst focuses on two major goals. The first is to design an architecture optimized for machine learning, particularly for lightweight convolutional neural networks (CNN), essential in real-time graphics processing. The second aims to develop a high-quality CNN library, specifically dedicated to improving graphics, by integrating advanced techniques such as ray tracing and path tracing.
PSSR technology and the foundations of the future
This collaboration already leverages current technologies, including AMD’s RDNA 2 GPUs used in the PS5 and PS5 Pro. These GPUs support features like PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which improves image clarity and frame rate performance. Amethyst promises to go even further by pushing the limits of visual realism and optimizing graphics engines for future consoles (PS6) and devices (PS6 Portable).
An open and universal ecosystem
This project will not be limited to PlayStation hardware. Sony and AMD want to make these advances accessible to a wide range of platforms, including PC and cloud gaming services. Mark Cerny highlights the importance of this approach: we want these technologies to be universally usable, providing powerful tools for all types of gamers and developers.
By joining forces to revolutionize graphics and gameplay technologies, Sony and AMD are preparing the future of video games with artificial intelligence as a centerpiece. This strategic partnership promises to push the boundaries of immersion and realism in gaming for years to come, while aiming to compete with NVIDIA which shone in 2024.
