Despite the PS5 being out now for over 18 months it is fair to say, I think, that we've still not seen anywhere near what the console is capable of in terms of graphics fidelity.
Indeed, the closest thing we've got to a hint of its raw next-gen graphical power, has come courtesy of The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience, which shows just what sort of mind-bendingly realistic graphics the console is capable of when powered by Unreal Engine.
And now we've just got another tantalising glimpse of the graphics that could very well be heading to PS5 consoles this generation, with the maker of online multiplayer battle royale game PUGB using Unreal Engine 5 to build their new virtual influencer, Ana.
Ana is a new virtual influencer built with Unreal Engine.
Ana, a 'virtual human' built with Unreal Engine 5 that is 'powered by hyperrealism, rigging and deep learning' technology, is going to be deployed by Krafton to 'engage a global audience and help establish KRAFTON’s Web 3.0 ecosystem'.
I'm not sure what that means exactly to be honest, apart from being a virtual mascot for Krafton's activities online, but that's not why I'm enthused by this news at all.
For me, as a PS5 gamer, I'm massively enthused by seeing just what is possible in terms of graphical fidelity in Unreal Engine 5, as if Ana is a benchmark of what is possible, then it looks like we're going to be in for some incredible graphic experiences in games this generation.
Now, of course, I think it is fair to say that having entire worlds and casts of characters built with that level of detail is well off the cards – even though we've already seen how impressive Unreal Engine 5 is with environments. But I can totally see this level of graphical fidelity make it into pre-rendered cut scenes and used tactically when all of the PS5 console's hardware can be focussed on just delivering pockets of this graphical awesomeness.
I think we've already seen that Ana-level graphical fidelity is not pie-in-the-sky stuff at all thanks to The Matrix Awakens experience and the Unreal Engine 5 experience, both of which actually run on the console's hardware. This level of fidelity absolutely is possible then on PS5 and I believe we will absolutely see it in some capacity this generation.
We just need game developers to start releasing games that use the Unreal Engine 5 platform, which right now looks like we'll start seeing from next year. Here's hoping characters in those games can look as realistic as Ana, even if they are restricted in usage and kept for key realism-building in-game sections, such as cut scenes.
