CD Projekt RED recently released Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Update 2.0
They have been steadily working on improving the game’s visuals. The addition of NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 (Ray Reconstruction) has further enhanced the game’s already stunning graphics.
While the Path Tracing mode is still in preview, the studio is also planning to implement AMD FSR 3 and has announced the switch from RED Engine to Unreal Engine 5. We spoke to Jakub Knapik, the Global Art Director at CD Projekt RED, to learn more about these developments.
In a previous interview, Knapik mentioned working on Opacity Micro-Maps support for Cyberpunk 2077. When asked if it is still coming with a future update, he responded:
“Micro-Mesh is a fascinating technology that will allow us to get much better geometry fidelity cheaper — but it needs a new asset pipeline in place to seriously make gains with it. Taking into account the fact that our game is truly massive, and it is already a mature game with its release clocking almost three years, we focus on the technology progress accordingly. We try to create measurable visual and performance gains for the players that do not require massive reworks on the content side, as that would be a huge time investment.”
Jakub Knapik
When asked about the Path Tracing Technology Preview, Knapik mentioned:
“We are still maturing our Path Tracing implementation. We focused on low-light image stability and overall image quality delivered with Path Tracing. We implemented a quality booster for indirect calculations that stabilized the situations where there normally was a little luminance energy, and as a result, we had a low amount of light samples, resulting in a “boiling” and blurriness effect.”
Jakub Knapik
Regarding the addition of DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction and the reported issues, Knapik stated,
“That is exactly the area where we focused mostly on: leveling up the quality of our RT: Overdrive mode. I do feel we have made good progress there and, hopefully, will be able to share it soon.”
Jakub Knapik
You can check out the game running with the latest DLSS Ray Reconstruction version below:
So what about the much-awaited AMD FSR 3 implementation? Knapik confirms,
“This is a new and very interesting technology and I can definitely confirm that we are working on a full FSR3 implementation — but it is still an ongoing process and we feel we need still more time to release it with the desired outcome. I would like to avoid giving firm estimates on when it will happen.”
Jakub Knapik
Lastly, with the engine switch to Unreal Engine 5, concerns have been raised about the game’s future features and performance. Knapik addressed this by saying,
“Our teams gained an amazing perspective and knowledge of solving technical problems that many would consider as safe to avoid solving, and I think moving to Unreal Engine changes nothing in that regard.”
Jakub Knapik
He further added,
“I think one of the fundamental forces that shape our progress at CD PROJEKT RED is ambition; a passion to make things our very own way and create games for players with better storytelling and visual quality with every release. At the same time, we proved in the past that we also push the technology to its limits to achieve our goals.”
Jakub Knapik
As CD Projekt RED continues to enhance Cyberpunk 2077 and plans for future games, it’s clear that the studio remains dedicated to delivering cutting-edge features and exceptional gaming experiences to its players.
