Variable Refresh Rate — VRR for short — has been a much-wanted feature for many PlayStation 5 users since the console's launch. The good news is that it's finally happening; Sony has announced that VRR support will arrive via a PS5 update this week. A handful of games will be updated specifically to take advantage of the feature, including Insomniac Games titles. You will be able to toggle an option to apply it in "unsupported" games, too.
With that in mind, Sony says that the following games are being updated "in the coming weeks":
- Astro’s Playroom
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Destiny 2
- Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition
- DIRT 5
- Godfall
- Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
- Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
- Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
- Tribes of Midgard
It should be reiterated that you can still enable VRR for all of your games though the PS5's system settings — it's just that the patches for the listed releases will allow for "the best experience with VRR". In the case of Insomniac Games' titles, that means higher dynamic resolutions and even uncapped framerates.
Of course, if you run into any issues in unsupported games, then you can simply disable VRR in your console's settings, as shown below:
If you're sat there wondering what VRR actually is, here's a brief explanation from the official PlayStation Blog: "VRR dynamically syncs the refresh rate of the display to the PS5 console’s graphical output. This enhances visual performance for PS5 games by minimizing or eliminating visual artifacts, such as frame pacing issues and screen tearing. Gameplay in many PS5 titles feels smoother as scenes render seamlessly, graphics look crisper, and input lag is reduced."
Basically, VRR can make your games perform better — but you'll need to make sure that you have an HDMI 2.1 VRR-compatible TV or PC monitor for it to work (see: Best 4K TVs for PS5 in 2022).
Sony also stresses that enabling VRR does not guarantee a boost in performance — not unless the game has received a specific patch, as mentioned above.
Will you be making use of VRR? Give us a "finally!" in the comments section below.
[source blog.playstation.com]
Comments 98
Wait, every Game has to be patched?? Thats BS, on Xbox VRR works for every Game
@IonMagi As the article says, you can enable VRR for all games through the system settings. In theory, this should mean that most games run better — I think the wording is just Sony covering itself.
The games that get specific VRR patches will have enhanced performance guaranteed.
@lolwhatno I mean thats Sony saying "yeah, it wont work good at all on unpatched Games haha". While, again, it works the same for all Xbox Games. Not sure why Devs have to put extra work into only PS5 Games again (like with making Save Games work on Cross Gen Games, patching in FPS Bosst....all the stuff MS handles themself)
@IonMagi Nah, that's legal speak from Sony. They've been incredibly careful about what they say ever since the Killzone: Shadow Fall situation (which itself was absolutely ridiculous).
We see this all the time from Sony now, even when the wording leads to misunderstandings and a backlash.
Basically, it will work on all games, but a selection of games have been tested and optimised.
EDIT: There's even a toggle to turn it on for "unsupported" games.
Well that's a surprise in terms of the release date. Expected it to come some time in the summer. Curious to see how it works though.
Just a bit of a PSA here, using VRR or even ALLM will automatically block some of your TV picture settings (like Black frame insertion etc.). So I suggest only using it for games that would benefit due to the poor/unstable frame rates, like Elden Ring or even RE:Village.
My LG oled will be happy..elden ring will be tested first by youtubers..
And again people complain, just never happy are you.
I’m very happy this is a thing as I play Vanguard daily and still have a few on this list in my backlog to get through
I updated the article a tiny bit just to make clearer that you'll be able to apply VRR to all games, it's just some have been tested and patched to best support the feature.
Hopefully that makes it a bit clearer.
@get2sammyb it was clear to some anyway but thanks, people just love to cry and moan about anything regardless
Maybe I’ll go back to play the Remastered Spider-Man DLC now on my LG CX once the update rolls along. Hopefully more games have it soon
@IonMagi oh no, I have to let a game apply a patch. The agony.
Yes!
Finally we’ll stop talking about VRR all the time😅
I think the patches just disable buffering. Without VRR, these games would show tearing, but this is the way VRR works. So in priciple a very easy task to do for game developers. Can anyone confirm that?
HDMI 2.1 VRR-compatible TV or PC monitor for it to work.
This.
@IonMagi last I checked, PlayStation wasn’t Xbox
And bad news! Because developers now can always say „No heavy optimisation needed, because frame rate dips are handled by the TV“. But most people will not have a VRR capable TV within the next couple of years.
Still seems weird that those games are getting actual patches for VRR. Have not heard of that happening on the Xbox side. Just hope there isn’t something different about Sony’s implementation also considering how long it took.
Oh well, fingers crossed that it works just as well on PS5.
Nice. I don’t have a VRR capable screen yet but I’ll be interested to see some detailed analysis of the improvement it offers (looking at you, DF )
I’ve got a Nano cell LG. Will it work for me at all if the TV isn’t compatible or not? Unsure how it works tbh.
As a JRPG guy I can’t think of many games I’d need this on, but I’m sure some of the few of us with PS5s and VRR capable TVs could get some use from it
@Jacko11 I know, otherwise Devs wouldnt have such a hard time with PS5 Games in comparsion
Definitely not me getting excited thinking it was about the new PS5 VR headset...
@Scob Problem is that many Studios just wont bother with it. Just as how few patched last Gen Games to run at 60 FPS and so on. In comparsion dozens of Games got FPS Boost by Microsoft
One less thing for xbox fanboys to gloat over, and here's me still not fully understanding what VRR actual does lol
Vrry nice! I'll see myself out.
@Rural-Bandit
Let’s see if Sony don’t mess this up, like they did a bit with the ALLM update, with no off and on toggle.
Most first party PS5 games are fine as they are.
It’s the third parties like Elden Ring, Dying Light 2 that suffer with frame rate and screen tearing that need updating the most.
Great timing as I picked up a 55" lg c1 just yesterday for the ridiculous price of £1049 (from currys for any interested uk gamers) and it really is a game changer. This tv is the true next gen 😁
How does VRR actually make games run/look better?
@get2sammyb
It was already clear mate. He’s just one that seeks to misinform. Thanks for making things even more explicit though.
@Deljo
That price is absolutely mental. I bought a 55 CX 18 months ago for £1299 and I thought that was a steal... Until a few months ago when I bought the 65 C1 for £1315.
How are they getting cheaper!? I thought inflation was wreaking havoc on everything!?
@UltimateOtaku91
Ok it usually in my experience removes unwanted screen tearing.
It also sort of smooths out the frame rate per second by matching the tv with the console game frame rate.
So less jarring etc.
@Atreus97
It’s called getting rid of old stock to make way for the LG C2 which I think is now available in the UK to buy.
Deathloop also confirmed to support VRR via the game's Twitter.
@Atreus97 I suppose it might have something to do with the C2 models coming out next month.
So people will stop complaining about this feature now? Folders next so we can live at peace
Just bought a 55" Samsung AU8000. It doesn't have HDMI 2.1 or VRR capabilities. Don't care. I've been playing the PS5 version of Horizon FW on it, and the game looks fantastic. Hell, I was watching the first Terminator on DVD last night on it and the DVD had more depth and clarity than a blu-ray did on my old 55" Vizio M Series from 2017.
I'm honestly curious how many people have access to VRR?
Will be interesting to see if the VRR in the PS5 works all the way through the hz range including 120hz.
Remember the PS5 only has a 36gbs bandwidth maximum with HDMI 2:1. The full range is 48gbs with HDMI 2:1.
I'm not even 100% sure my TV supports VRR lol.
Oh well, if it doesn't, it doesn't.
@Rural-Bandit
Right that is it, I’m campaigning right now.
Nintendo Switch needs VRR 😂😂😂
@IonMagi did you even read bro?
My 4KTV does not have HDMI 2.1 (I have G-Synk on my PC Monitor, works well with my PC)
Does not really help me much on PS5 (or Xbox)... not buying a new TV for a very long time.
@IonMagi Sony used the same kind of language with boost mode on PS4 Pro, yet I don't think any games suffered from enabling it. Maybe there's some fringe cases, but games at the very least kept the same performance if not better.
@IonMagi You have to understand that Ps5 is literally the first non Windows console to have VRR. Xbox just uses a custom version of Windows which has had VRR for years. It's not a simple thing to bring to an entirely new architecture.
Yeeeeehaaaaa
@IonMagi the function might was added to the SDK due a very late date.
Seems that games have t receive a Uodate to fully support it, otherwise they wouldn’t have added the support „enable VRR on unsupported games as well“.
@Dezzy70 I think it’s only 32 Gb, but it’s not clear if this is limited by software or the ps5 hardware itself. Nevertheless the bandwidth is enough for the average user. You have a hard time to find any 4K scenario where 48 Gb of bandwidth are needed.
It’s enough for 4K 120 hz, the colour depth might be decreased a bit but it won’t really be noticeable.
Really looking forward to a test video from digital foundry
@Reeneman
Correct colour depth normally is the one that reduces maybe to 4:2:2.
@ShogunRok dont get it wrong. VRR does nothing in terms of performance. The framerate is just synced with the tv what means that slow downs or tearing will be ironed out or way less noticeable in games. Also uncapped framerates make more sense with VRR enabled.
@IonMagi Xbox uses one SDK for one and series games while Sony has different ones for PS4 and ps5. Both ways come with its flaws and advantages.
Don’t forget that the PlayStation has a different architecture than the Direct X Xbox.
@Max_the_German we don’t know if devs will behave like that. So far most of the ps5 titles are optimised to offer stable framerates.
People will always complain whatever is happening.
VRR not available: Where the hell is the VRR support, Xbox has supported it since the One X.
VRR update arrives: Devs will become lazy.
…. Okay
Man I'm going to switch this on, fire up elden ring, run full speed on torrent through the mistwood and pan the camera round 360 to marvel at the smoothness 😂
@IonMagi It's great that Microsoft had it for the Series consoles before the PS5 did, but this isn't any different than on Xbox. Like others have said, you can set it to work with all games on the PS5 just like on Xbox.
The thing is, just because you can set it to work with all games doesn't mean it works properly on all games, even on Xbox. Yes, it works with probably 99% of them, but there could be a random game that it doesn't work probably on for whatever reason. Life is Strange: True Colors comes to mind. It should, in theory, work the same on PS5 as it does on Xbox.
@Reeneman Different architecture? They both have the same architecture. Different API/OS you mean
Interesting that many of those games listed already ran at pretty stable frame rates and VRR won’t really help. What people really want to know about is games that massively underperformed, especially Elden Ring!
@Dezzy70 ah I see, and how will I know if my monitor supports VRR? In terms of my setup I use a monitor which it's 4K hdmi 2.1 and 90HZ
@Jacko11 " it was clear to some anyway but thanks, people just love to cry and moan about anything regardless"
Yeah I remember very well when we were crying about VRR while you and the same couple of people were like "god you people are such complainers, who really even needs this"
So this victory is no thanks to you but regardless you get to enjoy the spoils of the complainers so hope you enjoy the new feature 🙂
Really don't understand the want for this so bad. Such a minimal upgrade with so many hoops to jump through to get it.
@Floki yep!
Happy for the wealthy few who actually have access to this Tech, while the rest of us slum it on hdmi 2.0... folders next pls
Also to be clear, while it’s a nice feature it’s still pretty niche right now.
1) it needs a VRR compatible TV. Only the top end TVs from the last few years have this at 4K.
2) it only works above 40-50fps. So it basically has to be a 60fps game or above.
3) the frame rate has to be unstable. Many game are fine 99% of the time.
4) 120fps sounds nice but in reality neither PS5 or XSX can really sustain this for AAA titles. Most 120fps games are cross-gen, indies or remakes. 120fps is where VRR is really useful… but you take a large graphical hit to attempt to get to 120fps. Not a fair trade off imho.
5) especially as unintuitively the jump from 60 - 120 isn’t as pronounced as 30 - 60fps
6) as the generation rolls on and we get less cross gen games there will be less AAA 120fps games
Honestly I have it on XSX right now and while it’s a nice feature to try out and is useful on a handful of games, in reality it’s not as useful as many think as the use cases are so slim.
That said if it can improve Elden Ring…
@Ken_Kaniff it can be useful to iron out some minor flaws with frame pacing, slow downs and/or tearing.
But yes, the hype around it is a bit too much. But it’s next gen and we expect nee features that weren’t available on the previous gen. So its nice but nothing groundbreaking.
But I’m happy as well that the console finally receives the feature.
@UltimateOtaku91
Not sure, maybe the instructions or check online.
Maybe in your monitor options it might be there.
When I purchased my tv I made sure it supported VRR.
@themightyant not true in all of your points. The supported VRR range of TVs is mostly from 40 fps up.
Neuwert TVs true - but people bought a next gen console and some of them might already have bought a newer tv as well. LG offers these hdmi 2.1 features like VRR since their 2019 TVs for example. Three years now.
120 are not needed for VRR. But it ca be useful as well. Nearly every game with 120 fps mode struggles to hold this fps consistent in demanding scenes. Theses drops within the range from 80 - 120 hz can feel even smoother with VRR. In general I agree with you that more demanding games and next gen exclusives won’t offer a 120 hz mode every time.
@IonMagi don't wanna be a **** about it, but you do know VRR is STILL broken on Halo Infinite... So it doesn't really just work on every game on Xbox either 😝
Is HDMI 2.1 required? It is NOT required for XBox.
Does anyone know why?
@themightyant
The main reason I purchase third party titles on Series X is VRR. The main reason it seems to eliminate screen tearing. As the PS5 version shows screen tearing.
A very good example is Far Cry 6, no screen tearing series x, plenty on PS5.
@Reeneman I said above 40fps. Also 3 years in not a long time in TVs. Many still have their 1080p hdmi 1 TVs.
@Dezzy70 That’s a fair point it might help with tearing. Tbh it’s not an issue I’ve experienced much on either console but i don’t play many Ubi games anymore.
@themightyant yeah true. In Germany a lot of people still have SD TVs but it still makes sense to offer HD channels or 4K streaming services.
Why not offer such a feature. You see that this wasn’t the highest priority in Sonys list when they offer it 18 months after the consoles release. So nothing to complain.
And it’s not needed for games. The console works totally fine on display without VRR or even 4K.
@Atreus97 I know right? You can actually get it for £949 if you get them to recycle your old tv although I wanted to keep mine. But what a tv, the price you paid is still far too cheap 😁
@Cikajovazmaj True. But everything is broken with Halo Infinite.
@fabiotc HDMI 2.1 is just a specification, and companies have to pay extra to be certified and use the logo. To get it you also have to pass a number of tests including, if memory serves, 4K and 120fps and HDR and VRR all at the same. (And have a bandwidth up to 48Gbps, I believe there are a few other things you have to check)
However you can have all of those first four features and still not have HDMI 2.1. Either company didn’t pay for HDMI 2.1 certification or they miss some other criteria e.g. my Tv is only 40+gbps bandwidth. But handles VRR + HDR + 120fps + 4K all at once just fine.
@IonMagi No, you can enable VRR globally but it may cause issues on certain games (this is also the case on Xbox).
Patched games will of course work as intended and will allow you to toggle VRR on/off via the games own options menu which should not require exiting the game, whereas the global setting will most likely need you to quit and restart.
@Xiovanni not true, see my post above. There are several TVs that have VRR and most of the HDMI 2.1 features but aren’t HDMI 2.1 certified.
The Samsung Q90 series I know is one that handles 4K+120fps+HDR+VRR yet isn’t HDMI 2.1 certified, but there are others.
@Rural-Bandit good call, I haven't even tried my switch on it yet. Been playing about with it but what a picture, it's unbelievably good. Actually you were one of the ones that out me onto the c1 as you'd mentioned it before in posts so cheers 😁
@Juanalf I have never complained or said VRR wasn’t necessary 😂😂 what a stupid comment.
I have a TV thats supports VRR that I bought with my PS5. I’ve said multiple times how i’m looking forward to VRR.
Move along pal 🤡
@IonMagi it says it in the article,
"A handful of games will be updated specifically to take advantage of the feature, although you will be able to toggle an option to apply it to "unsupported" games, too."
FINALLY! I've been holding off on playing alot of games so I can experience them in the best picture quality possible.
I might even replay Astro's Playroom, both Spider-Man games, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart just to see the difference.
Updated the article a bit more. If you're confused by the difference between the optimised games and unsupported ones, this story on Insomniac should make it a bit clearer: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/04/insomniacs-wizards-already-putting-ps5-vrr-to-work-in-spider-man-more
Insomniac has basically put in extra work to use this feature to add even more improvements to its games. Obviously this is optional, but cool to see!
@UltimateOtaku91 VRR works by matching the TV's refresh rate to the games frame rate.
at 60hz/60fps, the TV is in perfect sync to display the frame every 16.66ms. At 30fps, the TV displays the 'same' frame twice.
If the frame rate drops, then the image is 'out of sync' with the TV's refresh rate - so you either get judder (keep the last frame longer on screen because the next frame wasn't ready in time so it persists longer, then that late frame is 'skipped' and the next frame shown creating a 'judder' to the motion) or you get Image Tearing (show whatever was ready on part of the image, whilst the 'missing' part keeps the last frame - so you get a 'tear' where the 'new' frame and 'old' frame don't perfectly align).
Variable Refresh rate means that EVERY frame is displayed as and when its ready. If its running perfectly at 60fps, that's a frame every 16.6ms, if it drops to 40fps, that's a frame every 25ms - the length of time each frame is displayed changes, but you don't get 'skipped' frames (because the TV refreshed and the next image wasn't ready) or torn frames so you get a smoother looking image.
Technically, it isn't really boosting performance at all - its just making the game look smoother. If the image is juddering or constantly tearing - especially in the middle of the screen, that does impact on the way it 'feels' to play as you aren't seeing the whole next frame, if you see it at all as it may be skipped/ditched to try and get back in sync...
Good timing for me! I recently bought an LG C1 OLED TV & a Samsung gaming monitor, that both support VRR. DMC 5 will probably be the first game I'll try VRR on with 120 fps mode.
@IonMagi Sony is actually being more honest than Xbox.
Vrr will work and improve the feel of games that can't keep a constant capped framerate. This is how it works on Xbox.
Sony is actually incentivizing developers to unlock their frame rate and make their dynamic resolution scaling less restrict so games could reach better visuals and framerates taking VRR into consideration.
@IonMagi Sorry, but no they aren’t, and you aren’t taking in the consideration that every developer who made a game with vrr support coded and enabled it in their game on Xbox. Since the PS5 didn’t have support for the feature they didn’t do anything to enable it. That’s why they need a patch.
That’s great will it help with Cyberpunk? Reinvested in (the PS5 version) for 25 smackeroo’s, when the city gets busy it dips into dogshit territory. Bn holding off on Elden Ring I know it’ll help there….
@KidBoruto with the games mentioned above you won’t notice such a huge difference. All of them running pretty stable, especially the games from insomniac. There was not really the need to hold off these games until VRR.
I think the most expected title to receive proper VRR support would be Elden Ring.
@SystemAddict I expect it will help with Cyberpunk. The feature won’t be officially supported by the game this week but I would give it a try.
I would expect that Cyberpunk receive a VRR update to a later date.
@Reeneman yea I’ll be straight in to do that lest we see nothing at all for unpatched titles. Also curious as to what adverse effects there might be; let’s find out
As many have noted this update will only benefit those with VRR-capable TVs.
However, for those whose setups will be able to take advantage of VRR, I’m guessing it will have two main benefits for this generation of PlayStation games:
1. For games that currently target 60fps (or 120fps) but don’t always meet this target it will mean smoother gameplay (because visible stuttering and tearing will be reduced even though actual framerate slowdown will remain).
2. For games currently capped at 60fps they will now be able (with a suitable small update patch) be able to unlock this cap and exceed this framerate where possible during the game.
I am furthermore guessing that Astro’s Playroom has already recently received such a patch allowing it to exceed 60fps.
@Reeneman Thanks for the heads up! My gaming backlog is in the hundreds though, so I'm in no hurry lol.
@Jacko11 Welcome to 2022...
About bloody time! I’m happy it’s finally here.
Elden Ring really needs this.Might hop back on for another run if they support it.
@AndyKazama
Why Elden ring specifically? I know VRR doesn’t help performance, so does ER have particularly bad tearing or judder? Have an LG CX which I think can do VRR, and was thinking of getting ER this weekend.
@thefourfoldroot The Digital Foundry analysis found console level VRR on Series X resolves some of the frame pacing issues on Elden RIng.
@IonMagi no, it works on all games but games that have been patched may do things like uncap the framerate.
Microsoft have had this in this SDK pretty much since day one, whereas Sony haven't and added it only recently.
If anything, I hope, it's just a build flag, but we'll see.
@IonMagi
MS is an OS/software company and knows what they're doing on that side. Sony is decidedly not so that's why the XBSX is so much better supported with things like VRR/boost/hdr/etc.
At least Sony is going to put VRR in. Should've been day 1 but I guess Jim Ryan doesn't like VRR like he doesn't like BC. WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT THAT... hurr durr Jim you idiot..
So, another fumbled 'upgrade' by Sony'
The so-called 3D audio doesn't work OOTB with every game and now this cock up of an implementation of VRR.
Why Sony, why? Why do you insist on doing things the hard way?!
You don't need HDMI 2.1 for VRR. HDMI 2.1 won't even come into it's own early this generation most likely as AAA games won't be running at 120fps in 4K (on consoles). Some online games and indie games will be the only beneficiaries. My TV has VRR and 120hz up to 1440p - it works brilliantly on the Series X. I hope Sony offers a 1440p option eventually but at this stage in the generation, many AAA games can't even hit 60fps with maximum fidelity settings.
I was really hoping they'd add support for FreeSync VRR like Xbox does but nope, just HDMI 2.1 alone, so you're out of luck if your TV only supports FreeSync.
Just got a new TV last month and thought I'd be fine with FreeSync, guess not though... More than a little salty about that 😂
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