PlayStation’s lead architect hinted that Sony’s “new console” will arrive in a few years

Mark Cerny outlined the latest breakthroughs from Project Amethyst — a collaborative effort between Sony and AMD to bring machine‑learning technologies into graphics and gameplay.

In a discussion with Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AMD’s Compute and Graphics group, PlayStation’s lead architect Mark Cerny described the newest developments within Project Amethyst — the Sony‑AMD partnership aimed at integrating machine learning into both graphics and interactive systems.

In a new video on the PlayStation channel, the two engineers highlighted three major innovations: Neural Arrays, Radiance Cores, and Universal Compression — technologies the developers say will reshape the games industry.

Neural Arrays address the heavy GPU load caused by upscaling techniques such as FSR and PSSR. Huynh explained that neural arrays enable compute units to operate cooperatively as a unified AI engine, substantially improving image‑processing efficiency. Cerny added that this will form the backbone of the next generation of upscaling and denoising solutions.

Radiance Cores simplify and rethink ray tracing by introducing a dedicated hardware block that manages ray and path tracing. According to Huynh, this offloads ray‑tracing work so the CPU can focus on geometry and simulation while the GPU concentrates on shading and lighting — resulting in a cleaner, faster, and more efficient rendering pipeline for next‑generation titles.

Universal Compression removes the GPU’s memory‑bandwidth bottleneck by compressing all data sent to memory. That reduces bandwidth demands and enables higher fidelity, smoother frame rates, and better power efficiency.

According to Cerny, these technologies currently exist only in simulation, but he “is excited about bringing them to a future console in a few years’ time”.

Source: iXBT.games