Threads
- Sony’s new patent aims to shrink AAA game sizes by rethinking texture rendering.
- AAA games reach 100 GB due to high-quality textures, and Sony aims to solve this issue.
- The company proposes using intermediate files to reference textures instead of accessing them directly during gameplay.
AAA games have come a long way in the last decade, but as a drawback, the storage size required for them has also increased significantly. There has been no major fix to this issue so far, but a patent suggests that Sony might be working on one right now.
We have discovered a new Sony patent that talks about a unique method to drastically reduce the size of AAA games. The company wants to change the way high-quality textures are stored and rendered in AAA games to trim the overall file size.
Sony suggests using intermediate files, like SVG or other compressed formats, to reference textures instead of accessing them directly during gameplay.
rendering of image content … [Can Use] intermediate files which reference one or more stored textures, rather than directly accessing the textures. An intermediate file may be any file, such as an SVG, which indicates at least a portion of a texture that is to be used when rendering the object (or element).
Why it matters: Sony’s new patent could revolutionize game development by removing size constraints.
The patent called ‘IMAGE RENDERING SYSTEM AND METHOD’ discusses a method to reduce the size of AAA games so that developers can further push the boundaries of visuals and other technical features in the future.
Sony argues in the patent that game sizes have reached over 100 GB these days, which is limiting developers and becoming a problem for gamers. So, using intermediate files instead of relying on detailed and size-heavy textures can solve this issue.
One big contributor to this increased storage requirement is the use of increasingly large, complex, and/or detailed textures for generating images of a virtual environment and elements within it.
Sony also claims that drastically reducing the size of AAA games can further improve their performance and lower loading times, leading to richer visuals needing lower system requirements.
Sony has also secured numerous other patents in the past, including one for a 3D grid-shaped controller that physically deforms to provide immersive gameplay and another for a universal demo creation system that enables players to quickly try out chunks of gameplay.
Do you think the new system to handle textures of AAA games will help reduce their size significantly? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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