Digital Foundry Tests Path Tracing on PS5, Cyberpunk 2077 Runs at 22 FPS
Technical analysis outlet Digital Foundry has conducted an extreme stress test by transforming a standard PS5 into a PC environment using a new Linux loader, then running demanding path-traced games on the console. The results reveal that the PS5’s RDNA 2-class ray tracing hardware hits a clear performance ceiling when confronted with full path tracing, the most computationally intensive form of real-time lighting. The test covered three titles known for their heavy path tracing implementations: Quake II RTX, Portal RTX, and Cyberpunk 2077.
Among the three games tested, Cyberpunk 2077 delivered the most disappointing results. At a 1080p output resolution and with XeSS performance mode enabled, the game managed only around 22 frames per second. Testers had to take drastic measures to achieve a somewhat playable experience, dropping the internal resolution to a staggering 348p and using optimization mods. This brought the average frame rate up to 35.5 FPS, but at the cost of heavily degraded visual quality.
Quake II RTX performed relatively better thanks to dynamic resolution scaling, managing to hold a playable 60 frames per second under the same testing conditions. Portal RTX, meanwhile, barely crossed the 30 FPS threshold after significant visual compromises. These results highlight the wide gap in optimization and scalability between different path tracing implementations, even when running on the same modified hardware setup.
Digital Foundry noted that while the experiment demonstrates the raw potential of the original PS5 hardware, the compromises required are simply too severe for practical use. The analysis points toward a clearer path forward: future hardware such as the PS5 Pro and PS6, equipped with more powerful ray tracing capabilities and next-generation PSSR upscaling technology, could potentially deliver path tracing on consoles without sacrificing image quality. Whether path tracing becomes a standard feature in future console generations or remains exclusive to high-end PC gaming is still an open question.
