Sony has announced that the PlayStation 5 will have a customizable refresh rate. This week, a global software upgrade will make the feature available to everyone. The feature was originally scheduled to be released in November 2020.
VRR can be enabled in the Screen and Video settings of the PlayStation 5 (PS5). It can be applied solely to games that are already supported, or it can be made to operate across the board by selecting an additional checkbox. There may be some surprising visual impacts and it may not work in all circumstances with the second choice.
Sony has released a list of games that will be able to run natively in virtual reality in the near future. Included in this are the following:
- Astro’s Playroom
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Deathloop
- Destiny 2
- Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition
- DIRT 5
- Godfall
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
- Tribes of Midgard
Also Read: Fortnite vs Apex Legends – Which Battle Royale is Better? [Detailed Comparison]
Getting Started
VRR functionality will be added to more games via an in-game update. Next-generation games may also contain this option at launch.
Unfortunately, this statement comes with a caveat: the feature will only work with TVs and displays that have HDMI 2.1 capability. HDMI 2.0 televisions and monitors can use VRR even though the feature was added to the spec in version 2.1 of HDMI.
Sony’s decision to remove VRR functionality from the Xbox One X and Xbox One X+ consoles on HDMI 2.0 monitors is a strange one. For the great majority of customers, Sony’s choice means that only those using HDMI 2.1 displays will be able to benefit from this feature.
Also Read: How Does Money Work in GTA 5? [Complete Guide]
You may be asking yourself, “What’s the big deal?” Well, variable refresh rate signals a display to only refresh when a new frame is generated by either the console or GPU. As a result, difficulties with screen tearing and frame time inconsistencies are eliminated without the need to enable v-sync, and the console’s refresh rate is kept in line with the display’s fixed refresh rate. Finally, the ultimate effect is better and smoother gaming.
If you have a PlayStation 5 and an HDMI 2.1 monitor, you’ll be able to experience this later this week.
For PS5 games that do not support VRR, another alternative is to apply it. Some games may benefit from this feature. It’s possible to turn this off at any point if the effects you expect don’t appear. Depending on your TV, the game you’re playing, and the graphic option you’ve picked for a particular game, you may get different results (if it supports multiple modes).