PlayStation 5 to support 8K gaming, Sony confirms

Remember when Sony said the PlayStation 5 would support 8K? That wasn't just for video playback. The system's next-gen Zen 2 and Navi GPU-powered SoC will apparently play games in 7680x4320 resolution too.

Sony actually confirmed the PS5 will support 8K gaming back in October, where it also confirmed the PS5 would have an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 CPU as well as an RDNA-powered GPU (likely a second-gen Navi GPU because of native ray tracing support). "Up to 8K resolution output for games," reads the post.

This actually aligns with previous reports of PlayStation 5's 8K capabilities.

Back in December 2018, Sony showed off its new CLEDIS line of wall-sized displays that sport 8K 120Hz playback. An unannounced Gran Turismo game was shown off as a tech demo on the CLEDIS wall display, and it's possible the game could've been running on a PlayStation 5 devkit.

Way before that in August 2017, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi was pushing 8K assets into GT Sport. It's likely the team was preparing its 8K render, asset, and texture pipeline for the PlayStation 5, which should launch with Gran Turismo 7 in 2020.

So can the PlayStation 5 actually push 8K gaming? No one knows for sure since the PS5's chip is heavily customized. But we should still expect heavy upscaling with 8K gaming, and it'll probably only be available for first-party games that pull every last drop of power from the PS5.

Sony has been involved with Navi's creation right at the start.

Similar to how the 14nm Polaris was made for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X and injected with splashes of Vega, AMD designed its Navi graphics architecture with Sony's direct feedback, so we should expect the PS5's custom SoC to push Navi to impressive heights.

Apart from the higher-end GPU and CPU synergy, devs will have access to other tools like a customized SSD that could feature cache acceleration tech for instant loading and data processing.

This way devs will be able to massively optimize their rendering pipelines and push assets directly into the game without having to load unnecessary data blocks.

The entire system's components will work together to push 8K gaming--the GDDR6 RAM, the Navi GPU and Zen 2 CPU, and the SSD.

Sony is expected to reveal the PS5 in a special event in February 2020. The console will release in Holiday 2020, and it may cost $499.

Check below for more info:

PlayStation 5 specs and details:

• Custom SoC with second-gen Navi GPU, Zen 2 8-core, 16 thread CPU
• Navi, Zen SoC uses new AMD RDNA 2.0 architecture
• Ultra-fast SSD
• Support for 4K 120 Hz TVs
• Ray-tracing enabled
• 8K output for gaming
• Plays all PS4 games
• Separate games that ship on BD-XL Blu-ray discs
• New controller with extensive haptic and tactile feedback

PlayStation 5 Coverage:

• Leaked PlayStation 5 devkit photos show new DualShock controller
• PS5, Xbox Scarlett SSD may use Optane-like ReRAM to supercharge speeds
• NVIDIA G-Sync monitors to improve PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett
• PlayStation 5: Everything We Know So Far
• PlayStation 5 confirmed to have 8C/16T Zen 2 CPU from AMD
• PS5, Project Scarlett may use Samsung's 6th gen V-NAND NVMe SSDs
• PS5 backward compatibility confirmed, will play PS4 games
• Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 has 4K 120Hz output support
• PS5, Project Scarlett to hit over 10TFLOPs of power, sources say
• PS4 will be supported into 2022, to live alongside PS5
• Sony: ultra-high-speed SSD is 'the key' to next-gen PS5
• PS5 dev kit rumor: 'ultra-fast RAM', Navi GPU with 13 TFLOPs
• PlayStation 5 rumored to ship with 2TB of super-fast SSD for $499
• Insider: PlayStation 5 dev kit faster than Xbox Scarlett right now
• PS5 cartridges aren't real, patents are for Sony kids toys
• PS5's SSD may benefit PS4 games the most
• PS5 powered by Navi in 2020, AMD making Navi with Sony input
• Cloud-powered PlayStation controller may let you play free game demos
• Gran Turismo 7 is a PlayStation 5 launch title: launches Nov 20, 2020
• PS5 confirmed to support 8K video, ray tracing, all on Navi
• PlayStation 5 rumored to cost $499, launches November 20, 2020
• PlayStation game demos are coming back with Sony's ambitious new plan
• PS5 controller: Built-in mic, USB-C, no lightbar, ergonomic design
• PlayStation 5 concept video shows totally new design
• Sony solves PS5's biggest issue
• Sony: PS5 development going according to plan
• New Viking Assassin's Creed may be next-gen console launch game
• AMD working on 'secret sauce' for next-gen Xbox/PlayStation
• The first real photo of a PlayStation 5 dev kit appears
• Next-gen PS5/Xbox Scarlett open-world game: 'best real-time graphics'
• Sony restructures workforce to prepare for PS5
• PlayStation VR 2: built-in cameras, wireless, ready for PS5
• PS5 games will ship on 100GB Blu-ray BDXL discs
• PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will both handle ray tracing differently
• PlayStation 5 could feature AI-powered 'PlayStation Assist'
• Sony won't abandon singleplayer story-driven games on PS5
• PS5 rumor: GPU is nearly as powerful as RTX 2080, GPU clocked at 2GHz
• PlayStation 5 rumored to be unveiled on February 12, 2020
• Sony to raise PS5 cost thanks to U.S. tariffs