Sony Interactive Entertainment and AMD recently revealed a major update regarding their collaboration on the project Amethystinitially announced in December 2024. In a nine-minute video, PlayStation Head of Architecture Mark Cerny and Jack Huynh, SVP and GM of AMD’s Computing and Graphics group, demonstrated three new features: Neural ArraysTHE Radiance Cores and the Universal Compressionwhich will happen in future GPU AMD and Sony PlayStation 6.
A transformation of strategy
Mark Cerny said the project Amethyst would bring about a radical change. Previously, Sony focused on developing bespoke technologies for its consoles, but with this initiative, the focus is now on working with AMD to develop technologies compatible with multiple platforms. This approach should increase developer adoption of new features.
Technological impact and expectations
The Head of Architecture also pointed out that it would be difficult to assess the benefits of Radiance Cores and the Universal Compression as long as they are not integrated into game engines. Indeed, these technologies, although promising, must still be tested by developers.
Finally, Cerny asserted that the Universal Compression is crucial in a context where increases in memory bandwidth become more and more complex. He also confirmed that Sony would favor machine learning and ray tracing for its next hardware, compared to classic rasterization, which will benefit from limited improvements.
Sony’s new technologies could transform the video game landscape, but their full scope will only be revealed with the arrival of the PlayStation 6 planned for 2027.
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