Sony’s PlayStation 5 will soon be getting a feature that is currently only available on console with Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Xbox One X: Variable Refresh Rate.
Variable Refresh Rate, or VRR, is a display technique that allows a console or PC to push frames to a display only when a new frame is present. In games with unruly performance, this results in the reduction of screen tearing and “judder” that makes games feel worse to play.
PlayStation 5 players can now relax as the display function is coming to their shiny next-gen console sometime in the future, as per a recently updated PS5 FAQ.
Under the section titled “Does PS5 support VRR”, Sony said this:
“PS5 hardware supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) through HDMI 2.1. After a future system software update, PS5 owners will be able to use the VRRfeature of compatible TVs when playing games that support VRR.”
With Variable Refresh Rate being a key pillar of the new HDMI 2.1 that allows the PlayStation 5 to output at 4K 120fps or up to 8K, the lack of support for this feature is a curious one. With high-framerate titles like Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War often dropping a few frames from time to time, VRR is a good fallback feature.
Despite the power of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X both allowing for some remarkable performance in next-gen optimised games, VRR is still an important feature to support for times when performance isn’t optimal. Whether that’s with launch games as developers get used to the new hardware or a few years down the line, it’s a feature that should’ve been included for the PS5’s launch.
PlayStation will also be bringing other key features to the PS5 in the near future. The feature of storing PlayStation 5 software on an external HDD/SSD will come in the future as well as support for internal SSD storage.