Updated: 11/25/2020 – Some new video footage of Cyberpunk 2077 with ray tracing has been released along with what hardware is required:
Can Your Computer Run Cyberpunk 2077 With Ray Tracing?
Updated: 9/18/2020 – Cd Projekt Red has released hardware requirements for Cyberpunk 2077 and what you need to enjoy ray tracing in game.
C:\>systeminfo /u 2.0.7.7\cyberpunk /p ******
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) September 18, 2020
Loading Processor Information…
Loading Memory Information…
Loading Video Card Information…
Saving data to: c:\cp77\hardware_requirements.info
Display now? y/n
Y pic.twitter.com/bhfDa51gkd
Original Story
Much like the PlayStation vs. Xbox war, the PC vs. console war continues to rage, and the general consensus is that PC is better than consoles most of the time – at least until the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X launch, and we’ll have to revisit that statement. Be that as it may, Cyberpunk 2077 players on PC will have a huge advantage over console players at launch. I’m talking, of course, about ray tracing, and now we have a new set of images to showcase just how dramatically it improves the game.
As you can see from the images we have here, Ray Tracing takes graphics and overall appearance to the next level. There are a handful of different effects going on here:
- Ray-Traced Diffuse Illumination: This “captures sky radiance” and emissive lighting. In other words, it’s able to more accurately distribute light in the game, so the sun and moon, for example, and realistically illuminate the city.
- Ray-Traced Reflections: This one is pretty simple, but the idea is that reflections in water, glass, mirrors, etc. will all be more realistic. The way light affects surfaces is better simulated as well.
- Ray-Traced Ambient Occlusion: This basically makes lighting in enclosed places more realistic. When in use, objects will appear darker and more realistic than usual.
- Ray-Traced Shadows: We’ve had somewhat realistic shadows in games for a while, but with ray tracing, they are much more realistic. CD Projekt Red promises pixel-perfect shadows and “directional shadows from sun and moon light” that are said to drastically increase immersion.
On top of all this, Cyberpunk 2077 will also take advantage of Nvidia’s DLSS 2.0 tech, which is basically an AI rendering system with a learning neural network. I won’t pretend to understand how that works, but CDPR and Nvidia say it can generate “beautiful, crisp game images” and will allow PC players to push the games settings to as far as their hardware will allow. As you might imagine, since CDPR and Nvidia are working so closely on Cyberpunk 2077, the game will be available on GeForce NOW at launch.
Will Cyberpunk 2077 Have Ray Tracing on Xbox and PlayStation?
Since Cyberpunk 2077 won’t be compatible with Xbox Series X and PS5 at launch (the two systems won’t even be out yet) the ray-tracing support will only be available to PC players. Right now, a lot of outlets are boasting ray-tracing as a PC-exclusive, but we also know that both the Series X and PS5 will support ray tracing, and it wouldn’t make sense not to bring the capability to console players when the game is finally enhanced and released in next-gen spec.
When Does Cyberpunk 2077 Officially Launch?
Updated: 11/4/2020: Cyberpunk 2077 has been delayed yet again to December 10, 2020 which is said to be a solid release date.
After several delays, Cyberpunk 2077’s release date has been pushed back once again, to November 19, 2020. As of now, that appears to be a solid day, but that’s what we thought about the September 17 launch date. It will be available on PC, Xbox One and PS$ at the time of launch, on Google Stadia by the end of the year, and it will make it to the PS5 and Series X sometime in mid-2021.
