Digital Foundry Direct Weekly DF Direct Special: Sony/AMD Project Amethyst Update - Next-Gen Tech Revealed + Mark Cerny Q&A
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Oct 11, 2025 The hosts dive into Mark Cerny's Project Amethyst update, exploring cutting-edge GPU technology for the PlayStation 6. Key topics include neural arrays for machine learning, Radiance Cores enhancing ray tracing capabilities, and universal compression techniques designed to tackle bandwidth issues. They compare AMD's roadmap to NVIDIA’s, discuss cross-generation development challenges, and speculate on future console cycles. Industry collaboration between Sony and AMD aims for scalable solutions that benefit developers while emphasizing the need to communicate the value of ray tracing.
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Three Foundational GPU Innovations
- Project Amethyst outlines three core GPU features: neural arrays, Radiance Cores, and universal compression.
- These aim to boost ray tracing, machine learning, and effective bandwidth without massive memory controllers.
Ray Tracing And Bandwidth Work Together
- Radiance Cores resemble NVIDIA RT cores but appear broader in scope for unified light transport.
- Universal compression targets bandwidth limits by reducing memory transfer needs before data hits the memory controller.
Bandwidth Is The Expensive Bottleneck
- Mark Cerny warns memory controllers won’t scale cheaply, so bandwidth is costly on next-gen GPUs.
- Universal compression is presented as a way to get large effective bandwidth gains without massive memory interfaces.