The next Xbox and PS6 would still be far from “real” ray tracing

A filter ensures that the technology will take at least 20 years to reach its maximum potential.

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The ray tracing has been one of the major graphical bets in the current generation of consoles, and everything suggests it will continue to be so in the next one. However, the latest rumors cast doubt on whether the PlayStation 6 and the future Xbox Next will be able to offer a “compromise-free” implementation of this technology.

According to leaks shared on specialized forums, the next consoles will take a step forward with notable improvements in ray tracing and support for path tracing, but the real leap could be much further away than many expect.

Complete ray tracing will arrive within two decades

The leaker LeviathanGamer claims that AMD has already prepared a large part of the work with RDNA 4, which will allow the PS6 and Xbox Next to advance in the integration of ray tracing. However, insider KeplerL2, known for leaking technical specifications of future consoles, responded to a debate on NeoGaf with a less optimistic estimate:

We are about 20 years away from achieving uncompromising ray tracing.

This implies that, although the PS6 and the next Xbox will improve the quality and stability of ray tracing, the technology will still require performance or resolution compromises to be viable in real-time. If confirmed, it would mean that during the next two generations, we will still see hybrid and optimized solutions, while “pure ray tracing” will remain a distant horizon.

As always, it’s worth remembering that this is unofficial information and that, for now, both Sony and Microsoft are keeping quiet about the technical specifications of their next consoles.