The PS5 has received an extraordinary free graphics boost on the base console, not the PlayStation 5 Pro, just in time for Rockstar Games’ GTA VI release this November.
The PlayStation 5 Pro has plenty of benefits over the base PlayStation 5, including better performance, sharper graphics with PSSR upscaling, and enhanced ray tracing, among other things. However, the base PS5 still offers 4K resolution, SSD storage, 120fps support, VRR and more. The PS5 Pro is certainly more powerful, but it’s also much more expensive. Thankfully, the base PS5 is getting a significant graphics boost through a free update, bringing its visuals a little closer to the Pro just in time for GTA VI.
What Is QSSR?
The graphics boost in question is called QSSR (Quality Super Resolution), and it’s essentially the base PlayStation 5’s version of the PlayStation 5 Pro’s PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution). QSSR is Sony’s latest AI-powered upscaling technology, which can take a lower-resolution image and improve it to make it look much sharper and closer to a higher resolution. It does this without requiring everything to be rendered at native 4K, which should, in theory, allow the base PS5 to improve visuals without compromising performance too much.
How Is QSSR Different from PS5 Pro’s PSSR?
QSSR and PSSR are very similar in that they both use AI-powered upscaling to improve image quality without requiring games to be rendered at native 4K. However, PSSR is exclusive to the PS5 Pro and is designed to deliver a higher level of image reconstruction and quality thanks to the console’s additional processing power. The base PS5 lacks the dedicated machine-learning hardware found in the PS5 Pro, so QSSR has been designed as a more efficient version of Sony’s upscaling technology.
Digital Foundry Calls QSSR “Extraordinary”
Technology experts at Digital Foundry have examined Sony’s new QSSR upscaling technology for the base PlayStation 5 and have called the results “extraordinary.” Despite the base PS5’s older hardware, it can still deliver a significant improvement to image quality.
QSSR is also able to tackle issues such as subpixel shimmering and complex textures, helping to produce a clearer and more stable image. Digital Foundry’s testing also suggests it can improve the appearance of some ray-traced reflections. However, while QSSR does improve image quality, there is a small performance cost in some scenarios. From Digital Foundry’s testing, the impact appears relatively minor, although more testing will be needed as additional games adopt the technology.
QSSR could also be beneficial for developers who are already familiar with implementing PSSR. QSSR is designed to be a streamlined evolution of PSSR, meaning developers should have a relatively straightforward path to bringing the technology to their games on the base PS5.
Is QSSR Available Now?
Yes, it is. QSSR launched on October 1, 2026, with Marvel’s Wolverine and Ghost of Yōtei the first two games to support the technology. Sony says the QSSR library is being made available to PlayStation developers, so more games can take advantage of it in the future. You won’t have to change a system setting to use QSSR. Instead, it is implemented on a game-by-game basis through patches, with the first two supported games receiving updates that add QSSR support.
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What This Means for GTA 6
So, with the arrival of GTA VI just over a month away, hopefully Rockstar Games will take advantage of QSSR on the base PS5. It’s also worth mentioning that the extended look at GTA VI released in August was captured entirely from a base PS5, rather than the PS5 Pro. Whether GTA VI will actually use QSSR remains unconfirmed, so we’ll have to wait and see. But if Rockstar does implement it, the technology could potentially help deliver a sharper image on the base PS5.
Grand Theft Auto VI will be released on November 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.