A recent Reddit post claimed to be presenting some new information about the next-gen Xbox console. Now while this post has been deleted, it appears that some information that contained could be true.
Now I’m pretty sure that you are puzzled here as to why we’re covering this story. And to be honest, the answer is simple; if this information is correct, real-time ray tracing may actually be used in a lot of next-gen games. Real-time ray tracing will be currently supported by a few PC games, however we may see a lot of such titles (obviously on the PC) provided next-gen consoles support it.
According to Resetera’s member hmqgg, the Xbox SoC codename is Anubis and the console will support raytracing. Moreover, at GDC 2019 Microsoft will reveal how it will be implementing real-time ray tracing.
Resetera’s admins have verified the content of a previous post from hmqgg so I believe it’s safe to say that he knows what he’s talking about.
As said, take everything you’ve read with a grain of salt. We also don’t know whether the real-time ray tracing that the next-gen Xbox will support will be as advanced as the one found in current PC games (or whether it will be a downgraded solution). Still, and since we believe real-time ray tracing is the future of video-games, we are really excited with the possibility of next-gen consoles supporting it. After all, PC games will greatly benefit from such a thing.
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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If this is true (which I doubt) amd GDC will be interesting.
I have no behind the scenes info, but it sounds pretty reasonable.
fake 4k with fake ray tracing @20fps THE FUTURE IS HERE
Just cannot see how this is possible in slightest, considering that the cost would be utterly prohibitive.
Currently even Navi isn’t scheduled to have raytracing support (AMD haven’t confirmed any support of ray tracing).
Technically the hardware may “support” ray tracing, but implementing it in any meaningful way would be suicide from hardware design perspective, especially if they trying to manage native 4K or even fake 4K.
Even 30fps 4K with anything less than comparable to a RTX 2060 would be a slide show, with BF5 operating at an average of 47 fps on low DXR with this GPU. That’s a £300+ GPU.
Even assuming it will be another year or so, mass production costs rather than retail cost, possible more efficient form of hardware and raytracing, this is still looking highly expensive for a console, both to produce and performance wise.
Unless they implement faux faux ray tracing (RTX is already not genuine ray tracing in absolute sense)
lol
Expect Phil Spencer to be announcing that next Xbox has ‘True ray tracing’ at a future E3!
Also expect Microsoft to indulge in dubious tactics such as sponsoring Digital Foundry to produce another pro-Xbox video so to buy off those guys to get them on side just like they did in relation to the sponsored video about Xbone X and its ‘True 4K’ nonsense.
And the best quality pixels !!!
Haha, indeed. Digital Foundry chief Richard Leadbetter even dared try defending Microsoft in relation to said amusing hyperbolic claim. His tone of voice seemed to suggest it was a matter of great irritation to him that so many gamers had mocked Microsoft for that claim which even Microsoft itself withdrew due to the embarrassment.
There was a time I trusted the word of Digital Foundry but ever since the start of this console generation when they regurgitated Microsoft’s desperate PR offensive regarding Xbone having a so-called “balanced” architecture when it was clearly weaker than PS4 and then the crushing low-point of them having taken Microsoft’s money to produce a pro-Xbox sponsored video I’ve lost all faith in their credibility.
They still produce some occasional worthwhile content about PC gaming and John Linneman’s retro gaming videos are superb but when it comes to console coverage they’re no longer to be trusted thanks to their own doing. Once you greedily suckle on the corporate teat then your opinions and integrity are tainted and suspect.
You’ve obviously not been watching their content lately as they routinely remark on how the XB1 is falling further and further behind as games progress this gen.
Games for that console are now showing up sub 900p.
I think people generally don’t agree with them as they have an optimistic approach to things, whereas the rest of the internet does not.
They even hired Alex, a supposed German “PC” gamer (who just spams tried and done PC gaming topics no one cares for anymore) who just blabs on about how great console ports are, despite them being held back by obvious console parity. The guy is a huge wannabe.
I thought Alex showed some real promise at first but he’s evidently since been instructed to discuss consoles wherever possible. Sad.
I thought he did myself, but he went on with “do we need ultra settings” and “AA settings” and then I rolled my eyes and decided to stop seeing him as someone with good intellect, to someone who just knows how to talk big and not walk the walk.
He talks so cringe like about PC settings for obvious console ported games, parity included. He talks about how “sexy” something can look, meanwhile I’m sitting here like “dude, we’re clearly seeing 1080p res textures, where the hell are the native 4k res assets?”. He knows nothing of what is “sexy”, only on a console level.
FFS I’ve seen assets modded into Skyrim that arer more higher quality than what we see in these mediocre “AAA” games. Alex just doesn’t know good food p*rn.
Talking of Skyrim, check out the latest addition to mathy79’s Skyrim 3D series of mods, Skyrim 3D Blacksmith. Impressive mesh work along with some nice textures.
As for DF’s Alex you’re being hard on him but I do appreciate where you’re coming from. The whole ‘do we need ultra settings’ thing smacked of peasantry intended to placate the feelings of their majority console-only audience. Showing the quality difference and performance hit from a range of graphics settings is of course useful but to frame it within a context of ‘do we need it’ wasn’t smart.
He spends way too much time referring to how Unreal Engine 3 was for console games when he’s supposed to be the PC guy. Again, appeasing their majority console-only audience from a site, Eurogamer, that is overwhelmingly console-centric… at least when it’s not trolling for clicks with its latest SJW ‘journalism’.
His recent video, which was an upload of his ‘job application’ video, showing how ARMA III looks and performs relative to changes in graphics settings. I thought it was pretty great and rather useful. If he’d maintained that standard with his other videos then things would be a lot better.
“really true raytracing”.
Human eyes can’t see raytracing anyways 😀
Who needs eyes when you have automatic aimbot assist for your gamepad controllers!
Who needs aim assist when your games finish themselves while you only hold a button and pay for the game+lootboxes+microtransactions+dlc+cut-content dlc+expansion+season pass+season 2 pass.
Damned right! Ray traced lootboxes FTW!
Thats right, they see Path Tracing though.
Maybe we can expect claims that combine Ray tracing and pixels that is even more vague and deceptive.
Maybe, ” the truest 4k pixels with Ray tracing”
Translation of which means, “it is true you have a TV which has sufficient pixels to display a 4k image, and our console displays an image on it, attempting to mask it’s insufficient power to run native resolution by reconstructing the image, and the secretary’s 5 year old son, who just happens to be called Ray and is an aspiring artist and once did some tracing at school, and we asked him to press a button, so we are now calling this Ray tracing”.
Phew, I’ve never written so much BS in all my life lol
Too funny! That’s some ‘next-gen’ level Microsoft PR right there!
No chance that GPU of that caliber getting sold for $100 to Ms/Sony.
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.engadget.com/amp/2013/11/19/ps4-costs-381-to-make-according-to-hardware-teardown/&ved=2ahUKEwiOvez254bgAhUIzaQKHTfUCugQFjABegQICBAF&usg=AOvVaw2fxehKmHLnf1oE1y_e7bQ4&cf=1
Plus according to this report they only paid$100 for entire APU last time, so even if they did, cost would still climb.
Furthermore, we still discussing a GPU that is best stored for dxr at low settings and 1080p.
They would need to break bank and take huge losses on each console
Most of a GPU cost is the actual die size and RAM. Generally, the other stuff is 10% in manufacturing cost on a high end GPU from a good partner company.
They will get a discount from ordering millions of the things though.
$200 at most for console GPUs. unless they’re willing to take a hit. likely Cloud gaming will be on the rise soon for the consoles. they’ve been testing waters this gen.
It will likely be reflections only like battlefield and ran at a reduced resolution with upscaling
There`re is allready Ray Traced game on current gen of consoles.
??
Claybook, it use Signed Distance Function Ray Tracing, also called Sphere Tracing which is much more efficient than traditional Ray Tracing.
I looked into that the other day. I think it’s only efficient if you’re using simple, convex geometry. That’s why these soft clay objects work well. Complicated shapes with holes in them create problems. So a modern game with metal fences and grass? Might make pure sphere tracing impossible in modern looking games. I wonder if hybrid approaches could be made to work, like using conventional rendering for grass, metal fences etc. and sphere tracing for the rest.
This is console, not RTX.
IF this is true and next gen Xbox does do it well. Then it will put a lot PC to shame.
lol lol
There is a good change my next pc will be . ..Xbox.
Esp if they streamline the mouse keyboard support there will be just a few rains left to keep with the pc as the master media platform.
Easy mark.
Will THE CLOUD!!!! support ray tracing?
Good question. If true, this could be good.
The cloud is doing crap in ms xbox ?
Personally, I think the next systems will be built with mobile parts again as companies try to infect regular games with the lucrative mobile business models and more social shopping malls like Destiny and Anthem. But the real Holy Grail is very low quality with high microtransaction prices. Think fast food but paying for a la carte fine dining. And just like Blizzard is moving everything into mobile, they all want us to get used to mobile-like gaming as the norm. Remember how EA and Blizzard both have been presenting mobile games. The mobile model will be the priority before aaaaaanything else because it = money money money.
These rumors also ran wild with expectations before Xbone and PS4 specs were confirmed then we ended up with cheap mobile parts after coming from Power PC and Cell processors. Reasonably, we all assumed some big upgrades this gen because the leap from the OG XB and PS2 to the 360 and PS3 were respectively huge. Even Ubisoft assumed a bigger leap so Unity was a mess and to not offend partners called its poor performance “cinematic.” The Xbone and PS4 were the first step, and now these next consoles will be fine tuned to wrap around the expansion of the mobile model – especially since the conditioned mobile gamers who had mobile devices as a daily part of their childhood are getting old enough to buy their own stuff.
TL;DR – As usual, I’ll believe it when I see it. Oh yeah and never preorder!
They can barely hit 60 fps and they are thinking on raytracing, LOL.
Saying it will support real-time ray tracing is damn near meaningless. A Developer can use ray tracing in small implementations and at a lower resolution and then upscale it.
2015 console peasants : cant wait for the future 4k 60fps ultra settings
2020 console peasants : 1080p 30 fps gaytraicing medium settings
Same useless games tho.
It will be just like their “true 4k” gimmick nothing else.
I mean let’s be real here a 600 USD card barely keeps 1080p/60fps with ray ray tracing (and that’s when only one of the ray tracing effect is used not all of them at once) and they expect us to believe a budget console will be able to do it? It’s laughable.
At best it will be a stripped down lesser version of the ray tracing IF they even use this technology. Just like upscaled 1440p is called “4k” they will call it “ray tracing”.
All cpus and gpus support raytracing, what is important is how many FPS you gonna get at 4K. Consoles have to be as efficient as possible, there is no point putting huge and expensive cores in them that will only accelerate raytracing, sitting idle otherwise. I dont think we will have raytracing cores in consoles for at least 2 more generations, after when we may be raytracing everything in realtime.
I remember all those articles in the gaming press claiming that Xbone X, then codename Scorpio, would feature Ryzen and Vega so…
Cynicism aside, I’d say it’s a given that Microsoft’s next Xbox will be capable of ray-tracing after all the work they’ve done on it already for Windows PC. However, game devs may only be able to implement it in a rudimentary pared back downgraded form given the performance hit on relatively weak console hardware always needing to be built to low price.
Practically speaking, expect to see ray-tracing in next Xbox’s games in only specific circumstances, e.g. slow-paced third-person action adventures running at 30fps. If it features in 60fps shooters, GTA VI and the like then expect it to be extremely basic if not wholly absent.
On a related note, it’s perhaps somewhat bemusing that for Nvidia’s RTX technology to be fully embraced by the mass market then they essentially need console game devs using ray-tracing in their games. So, in a manner of speaking, the commercial viability of Nvidia’s technology is closely allied to the success of AMD’s console-based technology.
Supporting Ray Tracing does not necessarily mean doing it well. Consoles should first learn to hit at least 60 fps then think of turning on Ray Tracing. If the next Xbox can manage 4K, 60 FPS, PC Max Settings & Ray Tracing, all while being around $500, I will be the first in line to get it.
Dood, even 3 times that, it would be a bargain
console marketing : fake 60fps , fake 4k resolution , fake HDR and now fake RAY TRACING !
It doesn’t matter how good a game can look. If game design is heavily influenced by micro-monetization, future games will be far worse than the ones we have now.
And some people actually getting excited about the next Xbox (?!) shows just how gullible gamers are.
so nvidia brings a new tech that many have been waiting for for tens of years and 3 months after that new tech has arrived idiots are complaining that there are few games that support it. Isn’t that stupid ? How can u say the tech is useless or a flop when its just been released. OFC every major AAA in the next years will have rtx because its f*ing great when it works and if they will want to compete they will have to use it. OFC the next xbox will have it its the most impressive thing in graphics since t&l. All these nvidia haters talking about lack of rtx in games are super stupid. Tech has just appeared u massive IDIOTS
How exactly do we benefit from it when these devs do such a lazy job at “optimizing” ther games for PC?. Then we’ve also got the likes of Nvidia and AMD screwing up here and there with their drivers and tech on PC supported games as well.
I can’t remember a time where I greatly, and insanely benefited from last gen or current gen systems benefiting my rig. If anything I’ve seen regression all over the place.
Software Sphere Tracing for scene occlusion and reflextions. Thats the only possible way to do it now.
If they’re smart they build it with tracing for reflections in mind. Lighting and shadows work just fine with rasterization, absolutely zero need for tracing and it only results in noisy or blurry images if used that way. Just getting some native 4K going in a sub-500 dollar console is going to be an impressive feat if they pull it off. Shooting for fully traced lighting at the same time would make certain that neither goal is achieved properly.
MS already make RT being part of DX spec so of course they will want their next gen hardware to have the capabilities. Doesn’t have to do with AMD current capability. If that’s what MS want then that’s what AMD have to provide.