With the much-anticipated release of the PS5 drawing closer, the hype train is already going full steam ahead. And now, the boss of one of gaming’s biggest developers/publishers has added to the excitement by bigging up the technical prowess of Sony’s next-gen console.
Yosuka Matsuda, president and representative director of Square Enix, certainly seems sold on the PS5’s capabilities. His studio, best known for iconic gaming franchises such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Kingdom Hearts, is bringing a brand-new open-world RPG to the console. The game is currently going by the working title of Project Athia.
Unlike the recent Final Fantasy VII Remake, Project Athia won't be a PlayStation-exclusive title – it’s also releasing on PC. But, according to Matsuda, the might of the PS5’s hardware means that you won’t be able to tell the difference between the two versions. In particular, he puts that down to the console’s ray-tracing capabilities.
In an interview with Japanese website Weekly Toyo Keizai Plus (since translated by Gematsu), Matsuda says that the look and performance of Project Athia on PS5 and PC will be “nearly identical”. This should be music to the ears of prospective early adopters of the console.
READ MORE: Will the PlayStation 5 offer 8K visuals?
‘Dramatically improved’ video technology
Project Athia was revealed back in June with a thrilling first-look trailer (see below), which promised that the game had been “designed for PlayStation 5”. It also showed off some absolutely stunning visuals.
“PS5 dramatically improves video technology, such as with the implementation of light-reflecting ray-tracing technology,” Matsuda confirmed. “By utilising these special traits, we’re able to create incredibly precise imagery.”
The Square Enix president also seemed to commit to supporting the console with future releases, too. “We will never stop developing for high-end platforms such as PS5,” he said. “Because these things are packed with the best technology.”
Sony is promoting ray tracing as one of the PS5’s key selling points. The console’s next-gen hardware is optimised for the graphical technique, which allows developers to create more realistic shadows, atmospheric lighting, reflections, and water and transparency effects. Sounds like Project Athia (or whatever it ends up being called) will certainly be making the most of it.
READ MORE: PS5 vs Xbox Series X graphics: will there be a difference?
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