Next-gen GPU from Sony and AMD teases PS6 hardware leap

Sony and AMD have jointly unveiled a new advanced GPU technology as part of their ongoing partnership, Project Amethyst. The showcase hinted at possible hardware upgrades for Sony’s next-generation console, the PlayStation 6, utilizing these technologies. 

Mark Cerny, PlayStation 5’s lead architect, and Jack Huynh, AMD’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Computing and Graphics, revealed the technology during a joint presentation. The duo highlighted several new graphic innovations that improved AI rendering, ray tracing, and memory efficiency. 

Project Amethyst brings Neural Arrays and Radiance Cores

During a joint presentation by Mark Cerny and Jack Huynh, two major technologies were revealed, including the Neural Arrays and Radiance Cores. Neural Arrays allow AMD to redesign its AI accelerators built into each compute unit (CU) in its RDNA architecture. The feature connects all CUs, allowing the GPU to process large screen sections simultaneously. The interconnection system has been compared to AMD’s Infinity Fabric, enabling direct communication between compute units without routing data through cache. The feature improves overall rendering efficiency. 

According to the duo, the technologies revealed are currently under simulation as part of Project Amethyst and are specifically optimized for AI-assisted graphics tasks. The technology enables faster and more detailed rendering in real-time. However, they did not disclose full details. Neural arrays are expected to change the future of consoles and GPUs, which are designed for AI-driven image generation and advanced rendering workloads. 

Radiance Cores were also introduced as a dedicated hardware block to accelerate ray tracing and path tracing computations. It has been designed to handle ray traversal independently from shader cores, effectively reducing rendering time and boosting visual performance. Cerny revealed that the feature can enable consoles to deliver ray-traced graphics comparable to those of modern PC GPUs. 

Cerny confirmed that the upcoming hardware will use Universal Compression, a new system capable of compressing all data types. Unlike PlayStation 5’s Delta Color Compression, which only compresses selected elements such as texture and render targets, Universal Compression will target all data types. Huynh confirmed that the new system improves memory bandwidth efficiency and data throughput across all workloads. He added that the Universal Compression system will integrate fully with AMD’s FSR Redstone, AMD’s latest machine learning based image upscaling and reconstruction technology. FSR Redstone is designed to improve frame rates and image quality simultaneously. 

Upcoming Sony consoles may harness AI real-time rendering upgrades

The developments are part of Sony’s and AMD’s efforts to mimic PC-level performance, focusing on real-time path tracing and AI-rendered environments. The duo confirmed that the new features are intended for future consoles in a few years, but not specifically for the PlayStation 6. The duo also confirmed that the innovations will appear in its upcoming RDNA 5 graphics architecture. 

The current PS5 and PS5 Pro only feature basic ray tracing support, trailing behind AMD’s and Nvidia’s latest GPUs in performance. If implemented, integrating Neural Arrays and Radiance Cores is expected to bridge the gap and enable real-time lighting and reflection effects with higher fidelity than before. Jack Huynh, AMD’s senior vice president and general manager of computing and graphics, confirmed that the universal compression technology will be utilized in future AMD system-on-chips (SoCs) and standalone GPUs. 

Project Amethyst began during the development of PlayStation 4 in a collaboration between Sony Interactive Entertainment and AMD. The two GPU and gaming developers have co-engineered several custom hardware to power Sony’s gaming consoles. 

Cerny hinted at a development timeline that aligns with previous console reveal cycles. If maintained, PlayStation 6 could be equipped with the new GPU features. 

Both Sony and AMD stocks have slumped today. Sony recorded an over 4% drop today, trading at ¥4,461.00 ($22.92) at the time of publication. AMD stock, on the other hand, has dropped by 1.13%, trading at $232.89 at the time of publication. 

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