GTA 6 launch trailer shows no sign of QSSR

Digital Foundry does not think the GTA 6 launch trailer uses Sony's new QSSR upscaler, according to Push Square. The video carries a disclaimer saying it was captured on PS5. In a 20-minute video, Rich Leadbetter said: "I don't think we're seeing it here."

Sony recently introduced QSSR, a version of the PS5 Pro's PSSR upscaler built for base PS5 hardware. So far it appears only in the first-party games Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yotei, and Sony plans to open it to third-party developers. Some observers had speculated the timing was linked to GTA 6, whose marketing from Rockstar says it will "play best on PS5".

Leadbetter reasoned that if the internal resolution is 1440p, upscaling to 4K with QSSR would cost about 4ms. On a 33ms render budget, he said, that is more than 10% of the frame, and he called it "quite extravagant". He wondered how the upscaler would be used if the base image already looks good enough.

Digital Foundry's separate QSSR analysis measured it roughly 1.5ms to 1.8ms slower than Insomniac's upscaler when going from 864p to 1440p. At a 2160p output, the frame-time cost reached about 4.4ms, which the outlet called very high next to the PS5 Pro alternative. Its findings pointed to 1440p as the more natural target for QSSR.

Push Square suggests the launch trailer was probably built from older footage, so the final game could differ. GTA 6 is scheduled for November 19.