What changes?
Microsoft has announced its most extensive update to DirectX Raytracing (DXR) since the feature's first release in 2018. DXR is the DirectX layer for ray tracing, the technique that makes light reflect and refract in games much as it does in the real world.
According to the test results shared by the company, the new technology increases ray tracing performance 66x. Memory usage in the same tests drops by about 90%.
Why it matters
Ray tracing has so far been used sparingly in most games because of its heavy hardware and memory cost. A jump of this size in performance, combined with lower memory needs, could make the technique viable across a wider range of hardware and in more titles.
Details are limited
The source report does not say which DirectX version, hardware or games the update covers, or when it will arrive. Microsoft's technical details and developer rollout timeline remain to be disclosed.
