The first 8K console game has arrived on PS5, even though the console can't actually display at that resolution yet.
The Touryst, which is still one of our picks for the best Switch indie games, came to PS4 and PS5 last month, and the PS5 version bears the unique distinction of being the first console game to render at an 8K resolution. It even runs at 60 frames per second, according to a new breakdown from Digital Foundry. The tricky part is that PS5 doesn't currently support 8K output for games, despite having that 8K icon on the front of the box.
Sony has said that PS5 will receive full 8K support in a future system update. For the time being, The Touryst's PS5 version renders its image internally at 8K, then downsamples it down to 4K to display on your TV (even if you're one of the early adopters playing on an 8K TV). The higher resolution data is currently used for anti-aliasing purposes, which makes the game's lines appear smoother and more natural. Developer Shin'en told Digital Foundry that it would only take a "minor tweak" to use the 8K output natively once PS5 gets its 8K update.
It's an exciting milestone, though it doesn't mean you should expect all the biggest upcoming PS5 games to start supporting 8K in the future: The Touryst's voxel-based 3D aesthetic is relatively undemanding, which means it leaves a lot of performance headroom to push super high resolutions at high frame rates. Other 8K games this generation will likely need to take a similar approach. But hey, there's always PS6!
Make sure your display is all set for the here and now with our guide to the best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
