Breaking down Cyberpunk 2077’s PS5 Pro patch in practical terms: Ray Tracing Pro vs Ray Tracing vs Performance, how PSSR works, and whether this is now the best console version to play.
Sony’s PS5 Pro patch for Cyberpunk 2077 is not a simple “it runs better now” update. It meaningfully reshapes how the game looks and feels on console, and it introduces new choices that actually matter depending on your TV and how you like to play.
This guide focuses on what changes in practice: how Ray Tracing Pro, Ray Tracing, and Performance modes behave, what PSSR is doing under the hood, and which settings make sense for different players.
What the PS5 Pro patch actually changes
On a base PS5, Cyberpunk 2077 essentially asks you to pick between smoother frame rates or ray tracing. On PS5 Pro, the game now taps into Sony’s new PSSR upscaling and BVH8 acceleration to re-balance that tradeoff.
In plain terms, the PS5 Pro version aims for sharper 4K output with smarter upscaling, more robust ray tracing options, and higher frame rate ceilings in Performance Mode, especially if you have a VRR-compatible display. Night City’s lighting, reflections, and overall stability all benefit, but how much you see depends on which mode you choose.
Ray Tracing Pro Mode: Maximum eye candy, strict frame rate
Ray Tracing Pro is the new “showpiece” mode built specifically with PS5 Pro in mind. It is where you see the full suite of ray traced effects working together rather than just selective reflections.
In practical terms, you get ray traced reflections in puddles, glass, and shiny car bodies, ray traced ambient occlusion that deepens contact shadows around objects, ray traced skylight to give the city a more natural global light, and ray traced shadows and emissive lighting for neon signs and holograms. Night City looks denser, more cohesive, and less like a collection of separate light sources painted onto the screen.
The cost is frame rate. On a VRR display, Ray Tracing Pro targets around 40 frames per second, which feels significantly smoother than traditional 30 while still giving the GPU room to push all those heavy effects. On a non VRR TV, you are looking at a 30 FPS target.
In use, that means this mode is best if you value visual spectacle over responsiveness and you are primarily playing the story, exploring, driving, and soaking in the city. Gunfights still feel playable, but you will notice the slower response if you are used to 60 FPS or higher.
Ray Tracing Mode: The new default for most players
Ray Tracing Mode sits between the full visual punch of Ray Tracing Pro and the ultra responsive feel of Performance Mode. It still offers ray tracing enhancements, but with stricter limits so the game can hit a 60 FPS target.
The main gain over Performance Mode is lighting accuracy. Reflections and shadowed areas look more grounded and less haloed by screen space artifacts, especially at night or in rain. Interiors with harsh artificial lighting benefit too since metal, glass, and glossy plastics respond more believably to light.
In gameplay terms, 60 FPS is a major step up from 30 or 40. Camera pans are cleaner, aiming feels more direct, and fast driving through dense traffic is easier to read. For most players on PS5 Pro, this is likely the “set it and forget it” mode: a strong mix of good image quality and responsive controls.
If you have been playing on a base PS5’s performance mode already, this PS5 Pro Ray Tracing Mode is effectively a visual upgrade at broadly similar responsiveness, which makes it a clear upgrade without demanding a change in how you play.
Performance Mode: Highest responsiveness, cleaner thanks to PSSR
Performance Mode is still the choice for players who care most about how the game feels moment to moment. On PS5 Pro, it can reach up to 90 FPS on VRR displays. That does not mean it will be locked at 90 in all situations, but it lifts the ceiling far above the usual 60 FPS target.
At its best, combat and driving in Performance Mode are incredibly fluid. Input latency is lower, flick aiming is easier, and quick camera turns are less smeared. If you play with a high sensitivity setup or you come from PC shooters, this will feel the most natural.
The tradeoff is that full fat ray tracing is off the table here. You still benefit from improved base image quality and PSSR, but reflections fall back on more traditional techniques and overall lighting is less physically accurate. On PS5 Pro though, this mode no longer feels like a big visual compromise, because PSSR keeps the image sharper than older, more basic upscaling.
For competitive minded players or those prone to motion sickness, this is the safest pick.
What PSSR actually does for Cyberpunk 2077
PSSR, or PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, is Sony’s AI powered upscaling. Instead of drawing every frame at full 4K, the game renders at a lower internal resolution and then uses PSSR to reconstruct a sharper 4K output.
In Cyberpunk 2077, that means more detailed edges on distant buildings, cleaner neon signage, less shimmering on fine geometry like fences and cables, and generally sharper image quality when you are in motion. It also helps stabilize the picture in fast chases where traditional temporal upscaling can smear the image.
Crucially, PSSR gives the GPU headroom. That freed processing power is what lets the PS5 Pro push heavier ray tracing in Ray Tracing Pro and higher frame rates in Performance Mode without falling apart. You are trading a bit of native resolution purity for smarter reconstruction and more effects.
From a user standpoint, you do not need to toggle anything. PSSR is baked into the modes that support it. If you have a 4K display, you simply get a more detailed, cleaner looking Night City output without manual tweaking.
How BVH8 helps the ray tracing modes
The patch also adds BVH8 support, which is a more efficient way for the game to organize scene geometry for ray tracing calculations. You do not interact with this directly, but the result is that the console spends less time figuring out what rays hit and more time drawing the results.
In practice, that is how PS5 Pro can afford features like ray traced skylight and emissive lighting all in one mode instead of picking one or two to showcase. It is a background change that quietly improves both consistency and stability in the ray traced modes.
Which mode should you pick on PS5 Pro?
If you have a VRR capable 120 Hz TV and want the most responsive experience, start with Performance Mode. You will get the highest frame rates, and PSSR keeps the image sharp enough that it does not feel like a big downgrade from the quality modes.
If you want a balance of visual fidelity and smoothness, Ray Tracing Mode is the sweet spot. It targets 60 FPS, which already feels great on a pad, while giving you a noticeable ray tracing upgrade over base PS5 without sacrificing responsiveness.
If you treat Cyberpunk 2077 like a visual showcase to stroll through and you are sensitive to visual realism, Ray Tracing Pro is the mode to try. On a VRR set, 40 FPS feels surprisingly good for a cinematic playthrough, and in return you get the richest lighting and reflections the console can offer. On a non VRR TV, be prepared for a more traditional 30 FPS feel.
In all cases, it is worth flipping between modes at the same spot in the city, ideally at night in a busy hub, to decide which compromise you prefer. The differences are immediate if you watch reflections, shadow detail, and how smooth camera pans feel.
Is PS5 Pro now the best console version of Cyberpunk 2077?
With this patch, PS5 Pro becomes the most flexible and arguably the best console version of Cyberpunk 2077 for most players. The combination of PSSR, higher frame rate ceilings, and expanded ray tracing options lets you tune the experience more closely to your tastes and your display than on base PS5 or Xbox Series consoles.
In pure visual terms, Ray Tracing Pro on PS5 Pro is one of the strongest looking console versions of the game to date, particularly if you are playing on a high quality 4K HDR TV with VRR. Performance Mode narrows the traditional console to PC gap a bit for players who care about frame rate, even though a high end PC can still push higher resolutions, ray tracing presets, and unlocked frame rates.
If you already own Cyberpunk 2077 and are upgrading to PS5 Pro, this update makes a replay genuinely appealing without revisiting the broader story of the game’s redemption. It is a clear, specific boost to how Night City looks and feels, with enough mode variety that you can meaningfully tailor it to your preferences instead of living with a single compromise preset.