GTA 6 Trailer Was Captured on PS5, But Did It Use QSSR? Digital Foundry Weighs In

Rockstar's GTA 6 trailer had everyone talking, but now Digital Foundry is raising a technical question: was Sony's new QSSR upscaling tech actually used? In their latest analysis video, the team suggests the answer is probably no—and they've got a pretty solid reason why.

First off, a quick primer: QSSR is Sony's recently introduced upscaling solution for the base PS5, similar in concept to PSSR on the PS5 Pro. Right now, it's only available to first-party titles, with games like Marvel's Wolverine and Ghost of Yotei already putting it to work. Sony's long-term plan includes opening QSSR to third-party developers, and Rockstar Games is naturally seen as a potential candidate down the line.

But according to Digital Foundry's Rich Leadbetter, the math just doesn't add up for GTA 6's trailer. He points out that if the trailer's internal rendering resolution is already 1440p, what exactly is QSSR doing? In his view, the benefits of this upscaling method at a 4K output aren't particularly obvious.

Leadbetter's estimate comes from data on Marvel's Wolverine's quality mode: a single 4K upscale takes about 4 milliseconds. If the overall rendering budget is 33 milliseconds, QSSR alone would eat up over 10% of that budget. He calls it a significant waste, which is why he doubts the trailer used the tech at all.

The report also notes that the trailer was captured on a base PS5. For players who care about console visuals, that's actually good news—it means what you saw is closer to what regular PS5 owners will experience, rather than a showcase on beefier hardware.

Of course, it's worth stressing that this is all based on Digital Foundry's video analysis and Everyeye's reporting, not official word from Sony or Rockstar. Whether GTA 6 uses QSSR—and how—won't be confirmed until the game actually launches.

For players, the real takeaway here is the classic trade-off between visuals and performance. When internal resolution is already relatively high, is it worth spending precious rendering time on upscaling? The answer will ultimately show up in the balance between frame rate and image detail. What do you think—would you rather have crisper visuals or smoother performance in GTA 6? Let us know in the comments!