The DOOM Eternal next-gen upgrade is now live, and it adds a Ray Tracing gun! Well, kind of. But we will get on to that later.
The highly anticipated native next-gen update has been something that DOOM fans have been waiting for since the launch of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S last year.
DOOM Eternal already looks and plays fantastic on the PS4 and Xbox One, but this native next-gen update takes an already great game to the next level.
On the PS5, the next-gen upgrade offers three performance/visual modes, Performance Mode that boosts the framerate to 120fps, and Balanced Mode which is 2160p at 60fps. Finally, Ray Tracing Mode is 1800p at 60fps.
Details on what the next-gen update brings can be found below:
Xbox Series X
- Performance Mode: 1800p – 120 FPS
- Balanced Mode: 2160p – 60 FPS
- Ray Tracing Mode: 1800p – 60 FPS
Xbox Series S
- Performance Mode: 1080p – 120 FPS
- Balanced Mode: 1440p – 60 FPS
- Ray Tracing Mode: Not Available
PlayStation 5
- Performance Mode: 1584p – 120 FPS
- Balanced Mode: 2160p – 60 FPS
- Ray Tracing Mode: 1800p – 60 FPS
PC
- Ray Tracing Mode: Availability and performance depend on a user’s PC hardware.
All modes feature dynamic resolution scaling. Balanced & Performance Modes not available with Ray Tracing. Performance Mode requires a 120hz compatible display. Balanced Mode requires a 4K compatible display.
A Ray Tracing gun, you say?
One of the most common features of a next-gen update is the addition of ray tracing, which makes in-game lighting effects even more realistic than they already were. However, as highlighted by VGC, the developers at id Software have not only added the option of ray tracing but they’ve gone above and beyond of what’s expected.
As soon as the next-gen upgrade was available to download, I fired up my PS5 straight away. Once downloaded, before starting a new campaign in DOOM Eternal, I was checking out the customisable options via the main menu screen.
While looking at the various weapon skins, I noticed the ray tracing skin. I could not remember seeing it before, but perhaps I missed it? Well as confirmed by VGC, this funky new ‘weapon’ is a new addition with the next-gen upgrade.
However, the ‘Ray Tracing Gun’ is in fact a new skin called “Raytracer” and it’s for the Ballista gun. Sure, it would have been fun to have an actual Ray Tracing Gun that could perhaps blind your enemies, but the skin is free, and it is still quite cool, nonetheless.
In related DOOM Eternal news, it has been reported that save data from PS4 to PS5 will not carry over. Yet, data will carry over from Xbox One to Xbox Series X|S via Smart Delivery. Upon playing DOOM Eternal on PS5, I can confirm that the data does not carry over, unfortunately. Thankfully, this is a great game. So, I had no problem with starting up a new campaign.
The DOOM Eternal next-gen upgrade is free for those that own the game on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Have you been enjoying the native next-gen version of DOOM Eternal? If so, let us know across our social media channels.
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Featured Image Credit: Bethesda/id Software