Microsoft’s Xbox Series X has thus far revealed an impressive array of features, from ray-tracing to dynamic latency input. Add Variable Rate Shading or VRS to the list (not to be confused with VR). Following a new video by Digital Foundry about VRS, Xbox Live director of programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb confirmed on Twitter that the next-gen console would support it.
Variable Rate Shading is essentially more efficient usage of the GPU when it comes to shading pixels. Along with providing better performance (since pixels won’t be shaded one-by-one like now), the quality will go up noticeably and should upscale to higher resolution screens more easily. Given that next-gen consoles are emphasizing 4K resolution so heavily, Variable Rate Shading will be very important in the long run.
It’s worth checking out Digital Foundry’s video on the same below, especially with examples provided for games like Gears Tactics. The Xbox Series X is currently slated to release this holiday season. Microsoft will be hosting a showcase for next-gen titles on the May 7th edition of Inside Xbox, though third party games – like Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – will be the focus. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
https://twitter.com/majornelson/status/1256251272287539210
