Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: New Game Plus and PSSR Upgrades for PS5 Pro

The update aims to address several community requests and quality-of-life improvements. Beyond the addition of New Game Plus, players can expect two new achievements, an enhanced Progression Mode option, and a new power calculation system. Cosmetic and synchronization updates are also included, such as the Master Assassin Naoe outfit and Animus Hub synchronization updates.

Enhanced Visuals via PSSR on PS5 Pro

A major highlight of this update is the upgraded PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) support, which is exclusive to PlayStation 5 Pro owners. In an interview, Priscilla Nguyen, Engineering Studio Manager at Ubisoft, explained that the goal was to integrate an upgraded version of PSSR to achieve higher visual fidelity alongside improved framerates. According to Nguyen, this enhanced version is more efficient than the game's original Temporal Upscaler, offering a crisper and more visually stable image, particularly in the diverse environments of England.

The technical implementation focused on maximizing the new hardware's capabilities without requiring a complete overhaul of the game's existing assets. By leveraging the upgraded PSSR within the engine's rendering pipeline, Ubisoft was able to deliver a Quality mode that runs at 60FPS on the PS5 Pro, providing a noticeable visual uplift and smoother performance for the title's open world.

Modernizing a Legacy Title

Updating a game that was released years before the launch of the PS5 Pro presented unique challenges. Nguyen noted that the primary difficulty lay in finding the right balance between image quality, performance, and integration within an existing engine. The upgraded PSSR served as an efficient solution to modernize the experience, allowing the game to meet contemporary technical standards and deliver high-quality 4K visuals without extensive changes to the core content.