Experts Call GTA VI One of the Most Impressive Graphics Showcases of All Time

Digital Foundry published a technical breakdown of the extended Grand Theft Auto VI showcase from August 27, praising what Rockstar Games achieved on the base PlayStation 5. The technical analysts called the game “perhaps the most impressive display of real-time rendering” they have ever seen.

The analyzed build ran on a standard PS5 at roughly 1440p resolution. According to Digital Foundry, Rockstar did not rely on AMD FSR or other conventional upscaling techniques.

The outlet highlighted the sheer density of the on-screen action as one of the game’s standout achievements. GTA VI renders a massive volume of vehicles, pedestrians, and environmental assets simultaneously, with the engine processing each element in near real-time. Pedestrians react dynamically to their surroundings, traffic flows naturally, and random world events trigger alongside player activities.

Lighting and shadows also drew praise. Digital Foundry suggested that Rockstar may use ray-traced shadows during select cutscenes, while standard gameplay primarily relies on traditional shadow maps.

The studio takes a similar approach to reflections. Standard scenes use screen-space reflections (SSR), while mirrors rely on cubemaps. Rockstar combines modern rendering features with proven traditional techniques to keep the vast open world within console hardware constraints.

Performance was not completely flawless during the demonstration, as Digital Foundry observed occasional minor frame rate drops.

Source: iXBT.games