On April 11, Cyberpunk 2077‘s 1.62 updates went live along with a comprehensive changelog outlining the new patch. After the release of the Cyberpunk 2077 1.61 patches in November 2022, this is the game’s first update.
The main focus of the PC-only update is the improved ray-tracing functionality that will be included in the Cyberpunk 2077 Overdrive Mode that CD Projekt Red previously revealed at GDC 2023 in late March. This is a rather ambitious update to the game that pushes the limits of graphical quality, as its name would imply. By using path-traced rendering, which creates numerous rays for each pixel and sends them bouncing in a random direction each time an object is struck, it achieves this. The energy-intensive process keeps going until a certain ray runs into another light source or reaches a defined bounce limit.
Predictably, the most powerful computers available outfitted with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3090 (1080p only) or RTX 40 Series graphics cards, are the only ones capable of running this shiny edition of Cyberpunk 2077. According to the recently released patch notes, the 1.62 version now adds support for Nvidia DLAA, an antialiasing technique powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that smoothes out curves on a per-pixel basis.
The 1.62 version not only included support for Intel Xe Super Sampling 1.1, according to the patch notes, but it also added support for other AI technologies. In terms of dynamic scene upscaling, Intel XeSS functions as a substitute for Cyberpunk 2077’s DLSS 3.0 frame generation. In addition to being able to produce frames with a similar level of improvement, XeSS has the benefit of using a few fewer resources. As a result, it is slightly more broadly available throughout Intel’s GPU lineup than DLSS support is within the Nvidia ecosystem.
The benchmarking tool in Cyberpunk 2077 1.62 has also been improved. According to the most recent patch notes, its results screen will now contain more detailed information about a specific machine, including its hardware characteristics and driver information.
While the popular game will undoubtedly receive more updates in the future, its end-of-life is now rapidly approaching. CDPR already discontinued last-generation console support for Cyberpunk 2077 in late 2022, and it plans to end all development work soon after the release of Phantom Liberty, the game’s sole expansion. Somewhere in the second half of 2023, the DLC is scheduled to make its debut. With the espionage-themed expansion, Keanu Reeves will return to his role as Johnny Silverhand, and Idris Elba will play a new character named Solomon Reed.
Cyberpunk 2077 1.62 Update Patch Notes:
Path Tracing: Technology Preview
- Added a Ray Tracing: Overdrive preset which includes the Path Tracing technology. You can enable the Ray Tracing: Overdrive preset in Settings > Graphics > Quick Preset, or just Path Tracing separately in Settings > Graphics in the Ray Tracing section. To make sure Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode works correctly on your PC, update your NVIDIA Game Ready Driver to version 531.41 at minimum.
- Additionally, we included an option to render path-traced screenshots in Photo Mode for other Ray-Tracing-capable graphics cards with at least 8GB VRAM. If your graphics card has more than 8GB VRAM and this option is still greyed out, it means you need to lower your in-game resolution. Note that the higher the resolution and the less powerful the GPU is, the longer it will take to take a screenshot (between a few seconds to several minutes). You can enable Path Tracing for Photo Mode in Settings > Graphics in the Ray Tracing section.
DLAA
- Added NVIDIA DLAA, an AI-based anti-aliasing mode designed to improve image quality. DLAA requires an NVIDIA RTX graphics card. You can enable it in Settings > Graphics in the NVIDIA DLSS section.
Intel XeSS
- Added support for Intel Xe Super Sampling 1.1, an upscaling technology using machine learning to provide improved performance with high image quality. It can be enabled in Settings > Graphics in the Resolution Scaling section.
Benchmark improvements
- Improved the Benchmark to display more information in the results screen, including PC specs, GPU driver version and selected settings.
What’s New in the Update 1.62
The long-awaited Overdrive RT settings for Cyberpunk 2077 are ready to bring about an entirely new graphical makeover, but the most recent information regarding this feature has made it abundantly obvious that it won’t be simple to run by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it seems more and more clear that CP2077 with Overdrive RT enabled will be the Crysis of this generation.
Cyberpunk 2077 has been able to improve from its initial setbacks, despite the fact that there were plenty of them. Along with the aforementioned visual upgrade, the game’s creator, CDPR, has been working on several years’ worth of upgrades and free content releases. In addition, a sizable new DLC is planned.
Even though Cyberpunk 2077’s DLSS 3.0 implementation has been out for a while, RTX 4000 owners can use the built-in AI hardware on their graphics cards to generate frames instantly. As long as the player doesn’t mind relying on upscaling technologies to accomplish that, this is precisely what enables the RTX 4090 to run CP2077 at over 100 FPS even with Overdrive Ray Tracing settings enabled.
Whatever the situation, the game has virtually been future-proofed for the time being because the enormous RTX 4090 cannot achieve even 30 FPS at a native resolution with these settings. For better or worse, Cyberpunk 2077 will undoubtedly serve as this generation’s Crysis. What’s curious is that Crysis 4 is currently in development, which could be bad news for long-time PC gamers but strangely brings back memories.
Cyberpunk 2077 is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
