And burn it did, thanks to a controversial launch by CD Projekt RED that also led to one of the most significant redemption stories in gaming. In September 2023, it felt like that story had come full circle. Update 2.0 fully revamped the game, allowing it to achieve its potential in every way, and Phantom Liberty delivered a stellar narrative with an unimaginable yet fitting narrative catharsis. CD Projekt RED got their win, finished their story, so on and so forth. Roll credits.

Except it didn’t stop. Granted, supporting a game for almost three years after launch was already notable, but it’s now April 2026, and Cyberpunk 2077 has finally received PS5 Pro support. You know, the same feature that the developer said there were no plans for back in 2024.

The best part about this update isn’t that it supports the regular PSSR for dynamic 4K. No, this is the Upgraded PSSR, which offers better image quality. It could have stopped there, but it went even further and implemented 8-way Bounding Volume Hierarchy to further improve the ray-traced lighting, reflections and shadows. That’s on top of Variable Rate Shading, and improved ray-tracing cache and object queries.

Which probably would have been enough on its own, but it also went a step further and added three different modes. You can opt for Performance Mode if a higher frame rate is most important, except now it can run at up to 90 frames per second on displays with Variable Refresh Rate support. Ray Tracing Mode delivers “only” 60 FPS but ensures ray tracing for all shadows. Ray-traced reflections are available with transparent objects and vehicle paint.

However, if you want the full Night City experience, then Ray Tracing Pro Mode is it. Alongside everything else, you get ray-traced ambient occlusion, emissive lighting and skylights at 40 frames per second on high refresh rate monitors. Even if you don’t have the latter, hitting 30 FPS with such fidelity and image quality is pretty impressive.

I know, I know – there’s no New Game Plus, no third-person perspective, and nothing for other platform holders to really latch on to. It’s a bummer, but the fact that CD Projekt RED is still supporting Cyberpunk 2077 to this extent is insane.

You could argue that it’s because this is their highest revenue earner, and you would absolutely be right, with over 35 million copies sold as of November 2025 (even reaching that milestone faster than The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt). However, it achieved those sales even without giving anyone any reason to believe that PS5 Pro support is on the way. Even if adding support did nothing to boost sales, it recognized that it’s a feature that a subset of players, however small, wanted for a long time, and set about delivering something it never promised.

Furthermore, despite the game still selling extremely well, it’s removing any barriers to entry. Last year, Cyberpunk 2077 was added to PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium’s Game Catalog. Last month, it debuted for Game Pass Ultimate and Premium, allowing even more players to carve out their legend in Night City.

Even when it released the Nintendo Switch 2 version last year, it didn’t simply port the Ultimate Edition over and call it a day. It delivered solid performance in both handheld and docked modes while adding motion controls, Joy-Con 2 mouse support, gyroscopic aiming, cross-saves, and even touchscreen support for the menus. If that wasn’t enough, the entire base game and Phantom Liberty shipped on a cartridge rather than a Game-Key Card. You bought it, you owned it. No additional shenanigans.

Then again, all of this – the PS5 Pro update, Game Pass and PS Plus releases, and Switch 2 Edition – is just born from a love for the game and the players who brought them to the dance. It’s one of the reasons why CD Projekt RED continued releasing new updates even after dropping the biggest yet.

Features like the Metro System, listening to radio stations on foot, replayable car races, gangs that actively pursue you in the open world if you annoy them enough, vehicle paint jobs, brand new vehicles, an overhauled Photo Mode, Auto Drive – things that you’d otherwise take for granted. Did it have to add all this and more in, even roping in Virtuos? No, but it went ahead anyway and made it all free.

Given everything that happened at launch – the lying, the deception, the disappointment (even when the game had several excellent qualities that held up over the years) – it’s understandable to be cynical about CD Projekt RED. There are still many people who won’t quote-unquote forgive the developer for what happened, and no amount of support will get them to change their minds.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the team put their hearts and souls into this game, and then a little extra on top for more than five years. There was no guarantee that all of this would recoup any goodwill, much less build excitement for the studio’s next projects – The Witcher 4 and Project Orion, aka Cyberpunk 2. Look at the sheer number of titles that are cancelled, month in and month out, despite pouring years and millions into the drain, never mind those that can’t even make it to market.

And yet, here we are, with currently an 88 percent “Very Positive” rating on Steam (94 percent if you consider the recent reviews), a presence that works hand in hand with transmedia like Edgerunners, and near-universal acclaim by those whose story in Night City changed them in ways they could never imagine.

It gives new meaning to the phrase “City of Legends.” Even if the megacorps run rampant, making people’s lives miserable, or crime is at an all-time high, or consumerism has led to all kinds of brand new societal nightmares. Even if it seems Johnny is right about dropping just one more nuke, it all comes together in a way where the player – and their encounters with everyone else – really mattered.

Of course, nothing says that CD Projekt RED has to stop here. With plans to scale its teams to over 450 developers by 2027 for Cyberpunk 2, there’s still plenty of room for additional updates and support. If The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt can supposedly receive that long-rumored free DLC, especially with The Witcher 4 next up on the developer’s release docket, then there’s nothing that says it can’t return to 2077. Maybe it’s a new tactic – using its existing games to hype up their sequels (and making some money in the process). Since the PS5 Pro update is finally here, perhaps that bit about no plans for additional DLCs or expansions won’t hold water for much longer.

We can’t really say for sure until it happens. Until then, we’re returning to Night City – slightly older, perhaps slightly wiser, with fond memories and a drive to make new ones. Because if The City of Dreams has proven anything for fans, it’s that some legends will never fade away.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Utilizing the upgraded version of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, Cyberpunk 2077 on PS5 Pro offers an upscaled 4K resolution. Performance and fidelity ultimately depend on three modes, starting with Ray Tracing Pro. It offers ray-tracing for everything while also implementing ray-traced skylights and ambient occlusion, running at 40 FPS for those with VRR displays (30 FPS otherwise).

Ray Tracing Mode runs at 60 FPS, and while there are some compromises, it still supports ray-traced shadows and reflections (albeit on vehicle paint and transparent objects). Finally, there’s Performance Mode, which offers 60 FPS on normal displays and up to 90 FPS on those with high refresh rates. It’s the best ideal option for those who care about performance above all else.

Of course, there are several other improvements, including Variable Rate Shading, 8-way Bounding Volume Hierarchy (BVH8) for enhanced ray-tracing performance, and so on. Check out the full patch notes here for more details, or learn more from global art director and VP Kuba Knapik.

Unfortunately, this is likely it as far as new features for Cyberpunk 2077, which has sold over 35 million copies as of November 2025. There’s still Cyberpunk 2 to look forward to, but since it entered pre-production in May 2025, the wait will be long indeed. At least we know that it takes place in a new city, which creator Mike Pondsmith refers to as “Chicago gone wrong.”

Global art director and VP Kuba Knapik said on the PlayStation Blog that, “We wanted to make the most of the PS5 Pro’s cutting-edge technology by bringing 4K visuals, powered-up performance, advanced ray tracing, and more to the Cyberpunk 2077 experience. The goal was to bring the very best out of both the hardware and our game to make Night City shine as brightly as possible.”

Besides PSSR, which upscales the visuals to 4K resolution in stunning detail, the development team added 8-way Bounding Volume Hierarchy to its ray-tracing for the more complicated scenes, “bringing the lighting even closer to our artistic vision for this world.”

“Imagine the sunlight catching off the front fairing of your Yaiba Kusanagi CT-3X as you park up, depart down a mysterious dark alley, and uncover secrets glowing under neon light. Players’ overall immersion in the world of Cyberpunk 2077 gets a serious boost from PS5 Pro,” says Knapik.

Speaking of ray tracing, you get not one, not two, but three different modes to choose from. Ray Tracing Pro Mode enables everything, from ray traced reflections and emissive lighting to ambient occlusion, shadows, and skylight. Those with variable refresh rate monitors can play at 40 FPS, while everyone else can experience it at 30 FPS.

Performance Mode delivers up to 90 FPS on VRR displays, while Ray Tracing Mode is a balance between the two, delivering ray tracing and 60 FPS.

Of course, we’ll need to go hands-on with the update to properly detail all the improvements (and anything else that CD Projekt RED may have snuck in), so stay tuned. Cyberpunk 2077 is available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 – check out our review here. A sequel, Project Orion (unofficially called Cyberpunk 2), is also in the works.

These include support for the DualSense’s adaptive triggers, which offer different resistances depending on the weaponry (even those on starships). The in-built speaker will play audio logs and intercoms between ships, while the Light Bar displays your current remaining health, changing colors based on how well (or terribly) things are going.

Finally, you can use the Touchpad as a shortcut for several functions, such as changing the perspective, scanning the world or accessing other key menus. For those on PS5 Pro, two graphical modes are available: Pro Visual and Pro Performance. The former outputs at native 4K and targets 30 frames per second, while promising “maximum visual fidelity”, while the latter targets 60 FPS for a “faster, more fluid experience.”

And while it didn’t reveal the resolution in Pro Performance, Bethesda confirmed that PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution is active in both. Starfield launches on April 7th for PS5, retailing for $49.99. You can pay $70 for the Premium Edition, which includes Shattered Space and the new Terran Armada expansion, or $10 extra for the latter alone.

On the PlayStation Blog, technical art director Robert Foriel says the technology delivers “sharper pixel quality and exceptional image stability, effectively eliminating distracting visual artifacts caused by motion and vibration, and creating a smoother, more immersive experience that allows players to stay fully engaged in the world without interruption.”

As showcased across various comparison videos, this also means significant improvements in ray-traced lighting, dynamic vegetation, and more. The former is more accurate and stable (with less flickering), while the latter looks much crisper, especially when viewed at a distance and in motion. Particle effects also benefit, delivering consistent quality even with multiple transparency layers.

However, its implementation was also seamless for the team, as noted by technical artist Nicholas Lopez. “The code changes were minimal, almost identical to the original PSSR integration. Yet the upgrade brings a noticeable improvement in image quality across the board. It’s rare to get such a significant visual boost with so little tuning required.”

Upgraded PSSR support goes live on April 7th with Title Update 1.1.9 at 7 AM PST. You probably shouldn’t expect much else in terms of new content, especially since it’s in the “final phase” of post-launch support, but here’s hoping for some surprises.

Other titles slated to receive support for the tech include Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, and Control Ultimate Edition. Stay tuned for more updates on their release dates, and savor Upgraded PSSR while you can, especially since there are no plans to update it in the future.

NYU video game professor and industry researcher Joost van Dreunen believes that this is due to US policies designed to disrupt the global economy. Citing moves like imposing import tariffs, van Dreunen pointed out that indications of rising hardware costs were already becoming evident as far back as 2024.

“The relentless effort by the US administration to disrupt the global economy is backfiring exactly as expected,” said van Dreunen. “Already in 2024 did console manufacturers signal that any tariffs would have a major impact on pricing. The costs for DRAM and NAND have surged 80-90 percent since the start of 2026.”

Dr Serkan Toto, CEO of consultancy firm Kantan Games, believes that with its recent price hikes, Sony has started preparing for further pricing fluctuations in the future. He noted that this also gives the company “some leeway to lower prices and offer ‘deals’ if things surprisingly get better.” As for the next generation of console hardware, Dr Toto believes that there will be at least one PS6 SKU priced at $999. van Dreunen agrees, saying “we’re quickly moving towards a world in which a $1,000 console will be the norm, and console gaming will become a luxury expenditure.”

“They really don’t want to raise prices on their hardware, because that part is usually a heavily subsidized part of the equation, and the sale of games is the gravity point of their revenue model. I predict that the next generation of console hardware will start at a 50% higher price point than the current one did.”

Piscatella believes that Sony’s plans for the launch of the PS6, both the timing and pricing, “must be considered to be in flux,” owing to “far too much volatility and uncertainty.”

“Could we see $1k+ pricing? Sure, that’s possible,” he continued. “Would really hate to see that, but it’s possible. Could it be 2027? Maybe. Could it be 2028? Sure. Later? Why not. I do not think that current market conditions allow for much certainty at all in the hardware market. Hopefully, the conditions improve. They could get worse. Who knows?”

Sony’s recent price hikes will affect markets worldwide from April 2nd, as the base PS5’s price goes up by $100, while the PS5 Pro is going up by $150. Meanwhile, the PlayStation Portal cost is rising by $50.

The announcement led to Ampere Analysis’ Piers Harding-Rolls stating that Sony’s move might be followed by Microsoft and Nintendo for their own current-gen consoles—the Xbox Series X/S and the Switch 2. “With no sign of prices easing largely due to demand for AI infrastructure, Sony will have made the move to protect its slim hardware margins,” he said. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if Microsoft and Nintendo followed suit in the not-too-distant future.”

The PS5 Digital Edition will cost $599.99/£519.99/€599.99/¥89,980, while the PlayStation Portal is slated to cost $249.99/£219.99/€249.99/¥39,980 (which thankfully isn’t the biggest jump). However, those looking to purchase the PS5 Pro may want to wait for the PlayStation 6 at this rate. Currently retailing for $749.99 in the United States, it will cost a whopping $899.99 after next week.

That translates to £789.99 (up from £699.99) in the UK, €899.99 (up from €799.99) in Europe and ¥137,980 (an increase from ¥119,980) in Japan.

“We know that price changes impact our community, and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide,” said the publisher. At least it hasn’t begun pricing physical and digital editions of a game differently, like Nintendo (unlike Blu-ray disc manufacturing, which suddenly skyrockets in the coming months).

Of course, this is far from the first price increase for any of these regions. The base PS5 saw prices jump in 2022 for Europe, Canada, Japan, and other regions due to “high global inflation rates.” Japan saw a second price increase in August 2024, while last year, the United States experienced its first major price increase, with the PS5 costing $549.99 (from $499.99) and the PS5 Pro costing $749.99 (up from $699.99).

That added fidelity is also apparent in the cutscenes, which should make it all the easier to distinguish between human allies and their not-so-friendly alien doppelgangers. For a game like this, where sneaking and shadows will be as important as running for your life, ray tracing is a boon, resulting in more realistic light and shadows.

“With advanced ray tracing, light behaves more realistically, bouncing naturally through corridors, reflecting off metallic surfaces, and casting shadows that feel grounded in physical space. Emergency strobes flare against bulkheads. Firelight flickers dynamically across a character’s face. Ice refracts light in a way that feels cold and unforgiving,” says Studio Technical Director Will Burdon.

Directive 8020 will also leverage the DualSense controller. You’ll hear communications from crewmates through the speaker and feel the haptic feedback when using tools. That same feedback comes into play during pivotal moments where quick thinking matters, further adding to the tension. If things go too far south, you can always rely on Turning Points to redo certain decisions.

Launching on May 12th, Directive 8020 will also be available for Xbox Series X/S and PC. You can check the prologue here for a quick glimpse at some of the more impactful decisions, or learn more about co-op here.

“The current strategy is that it will be fixed, i.e. even if there are updated network parameters for the most recent PS5 Pro games, those parameters will not be applied when the Enhance feature is used,” he explained. “That allows the PS5 Pro community to provide clear guidance on how and when to use the Enhance feature – conversely, if the parameters were continually being updated then that guidance would be much harder to provide. Having said that, we are in very early days here at PlayStation with these ML libraries, and I’m certain our strategy will evolve over time.”

The option essentially allows games that can make use of the upgraded version of PSSR to toggle between it and the older version, giving players more options in how they want their game to look. However, Cerny’s last line about machine learning libraries still being in their “early days” for PlayStation might give players more hope about the option itself also getting upgrades. As it currently stands, however, developers will need to manually update games to support newer versions of PSSR as they come out.

Cerny also spoke about other improvements that have been made to PSSR over time. The newer version, for instance, is faster than the original, which in turn allowed Sony to implement the “Enhance PSSR Image Quality” option to begin with, thus forcefully upgrading the visuals for any game that might support the upscaler.

“The new PSSR is something like 100 microseconds faster than the original,” he explained. “Which in turn allowed us to implement the ‘Enhance PSSR Image Quality’ option to force-upgrade all PSSR-supported games. If you use it, frame drops should become oh-so-slightly rarer.”

In the same interview, Cerny had also revealed that, through Sony’s partnership with AMD, frame generation will also be a feature that makes its way to PlayStation consoles in the future. This, he said, was thanks to a new version of FSR, dubbed FSR Redstone, which features frame generation algorithms that have been co-developed by the two companies.

“Just to clarify a few things about the collaboration with AMD, the new PSSR uses the same core co-developed algorithm as FSR Redstone’s Upscaling (to avoid confusion, I’ll use the new names today rather than FSR4),” Cerny shared. “FSR Frame Generation is also based on co-developed technology (or as my good friend [SVP and GM of AMD’s Computing and Graphics Group] Jack Huynh puts it, ‘co-engineered technology’). I’m very happy with how that work is progressing, and an equivalent frame generation library should be seen at some point on PlayStation platforms.”

Cerny is yet to offer any more comment about what these “PlayStation platforms” might be, however. “All I can say is that we have no more releases planned for this year. And I look forward to discussing this more in the future!”

He spoke about the development of FSR Redstone, which was also used to bring improvements to PSSR upscaling. Similarly, FSR Frame Generation has also been described by him as being based on “co-developed technology”. This work between the two companies has been progressing, and Cerny is quite happy with how it has been turning out so far.

“Just to clarify a few things about the collaboration with AMD, the new PSSR uses the same core co-developed algorithm as FSR Redstone’s Upscaling (to avoid confusion, I’ll use the new names today rather than FSR4),” Cerny shared. “FSR Frame Generation is also based on co-developed technology (or as my good friend [SVP and GM of AMD’s Computing and Graphics Group] Jack Huynh puts it, ‘co-engineered technology’). I’m very happy with how that work is progressing, and an equivalent frame generation library should be seen at some point on PlayStation platforms.”

As for what these “PlayStation platforms” might be, Cerny noted that Sony doesn’t have any major technological releases planned for this year. “All I can say is that we have no more releases planned for this year. And I look forward to discussing this more in the future!”

Back in October, Cerny and Huynh had discussed the kinds of improvements that the two companies had been working on. The collaboration involves bringing major graphical improvements while also reducing processing overhead.

“The challenge comes in how we implement these systems,” said Cerny in a video. “The neural networks found in technologies like FSR and PSSR are incredibly demanding on the GPU. They’re both computationally intensive and require speedy access to large amounts of memory. The nature of the GPU fights us here.”

Among the technologies introduced in the video were Neural Arrays, which would involve GPU compute units tackling larger problems together rather than each one tackling smaller problems individually.

“We’re not linking the entire GPU into one mega unit,” explained Huynh. “That would be a cable management nightmare. But we are connecting [compute units] within each shader engine in a smart, efficient way. And that changes the game for neural rendering. Bigger [machine learning] models, less overhead, more efficiency, and way more scalability as workloads grow.”

Along with Neural Arrays, the two also discussed Radiance Cores, which are built with Neural Radiance Caching as their foundation. The technology will handle ray tracing and path tracing in real-time, and will ultimately constitute a “brand new rendering approach for AMD,” said Huynh.

More recently, Sony released an upgraded version of PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, which made its debut on PS5 Pro with the release of Resident Evil Requiem. The feature is gradually rolling out to other titles, including Silent Hill 2 Remake, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Nioh 3, and Cyberpunk 2077, among others.