What is Cyberpunk 2077’s ‘Overdrive’ ray tracing?

For anyone wondering what Cyberpunk 2077’s ‘Overdrive’ ray tracing is, don’t worry. You’ve come to the right place.

CD Projeckt Red have announced that there will be a new Cyberpunk 2077 update, launching on April 11. This update will be called Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode. The update will preview new Nvidia technology allowing for real-time full ray tracing. This includes RTXDI and RTXGI technology. But are these new technologies?

Let’s get into it.

What does ‘Path Tracing’ mean for the Cyberpunk 2077 update?

‘Path tracing’ is the other name for full ray tracing. Full ray tracing differs from normal ray tracing, which we have already seen appearing in big name games like Hogwarts Legacy and The Finals, in that full ray tracing allows for many multitudes of dynamic light sources, rather than only a few. Let’s unpack that a bit.

Ray Tracing is a technique that traces the path of light, then predicts and renders the way that light would interact with surrounding objects. Ray tracing is not just about the light path but itself but also the nature of that path. For example, ray tracing can also predict the sort of colour refraction that can be caused by light/object interaction. Think of the way blue ink turns black in low lighting. Ray tracing can help games to render that.

Cyberpunk 2077 has had ray tracing since it came out in 2020. However, this new ‘Overdrive’ update could finally see Cyberpunk 2077 make that leap into truly realistic graphics with the inclusion of Nvidia RTXDI and RTXGI technology combined with Shader Execution Reordering (SER) and Nvidia Real-Time Denoisers (NRD) to allow for full ray tracing. The trailer certainly suggests stunning graphics.

What do RTXDI and RTXGI do in the Cyberpunk 2077 update?

RTXDI

The inclusion of Nvidia RTXDI technology in Cyberpunk 2077’s ‘Overdrive’ update, allows for multiple complex light sources, such as neon lights, to cast accurate light diffusion. This means accurate light emission but also includes soft shadows. Soft shadows are shadows cast by a light source that is further away – think of the sort of blurriness you see at the edges of car shadows cast by street lights versus the sharper edges of, for example, a mug underneath a desk lamp.

Perceptually accurate shadows are important in graphics rendering as they give objects weight within an image. An object that casts no visible shadows feels like it’s floating in an image and makes the entire visual effect less believable. Now, with RTXDI technology combined with RTXGI these kind of reality simulating visual effects can happen in real-time in-game.

RTXGI

We’ve mentioned RTXGI a few times now, so for those wondering that actually is, here’s a whistle-stop explanation. RTXGI stands for RTX Global Illumination. RTXGI allows games to render light from indirect light sources in multiple refractions (multi-bounce) in real time. The net effect of this is much lighter, more dynamic overall visuals. This is because all objects reflect a certain amount of light. The moon, for example, is only a light source because it reflects the sun. Including this is gaming visual rendering thus creates a much more realistic final effect.

What do SER and NRD do in Cyberpunk 2077 ‘Overdrive’?

SER

SER stands for Shader Execution Reordering. SER reduces the amount of work required for full ray tracing by reordering, and essentially triaging, lighting rendering information. Since ray tracing creates so many paths of light, and consequently multiple interacting and intersecting paths of information for the game to comprehend and render, SER removes all the contrasting and conflicting information, leaving only the information the game technology needs to act on.

NRD

NRD stands for Nvidia Real-Time Denoisers. NRD essentially does what it says on the tin. It makes things less noisy. Not sonically, of course, but visually. With the sheer amount of information ray-tracing technology creates a lot of the bare bones can get lost in the overload.

Think of it like impressionism. Picture Monet’s Water Lilies. Up close, the flowers are barely distinguishable. When you walk further away, the outlines of the flowers becomes clearer and crisper until the object outlines become more obvious. That process of recognition is pretty much what an NRD does. It cuts out all the extraneous data and returns images to crisper, clearer recognition results. As Nvidia put it: ‘it uses input signals and environmental conditions to deliver results comparable to ground-truth images.’

For Cyberpunk 2077 gamers, this just means that the NRD is helping the game run effectively despite all the information and data that is being processed and rendered.

(Note: For SER, NRD, RTXDI, and RTXGI, Nvidia has an excellent Introductory Resources page that you can sign up to access for that goes in-depth into the mechanics of how software like those listed in this article work if you want to check that out.)

What GPU can run Cyberpunk 2077 ‘Overdrive’ update?

The combination of all these behemoths of graphics rendering technologies make us very excited for the new update release. However, as is to be expected with the kind of data processing we’re talking here, running the technology preview is going to be pretty GPU intensive. With that in mind Nvidia GeForce have recommended only trying to run CyberPunk 2077 Ray Tracing: overdrive Mode on the GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards and DLSS 3. The currently available models in the RTX 40 series include: RTX 4090, RTX 4080, and RTX 4070 Ti.

For all the gaming news you could need, make sure to watch this space. We’ve got you covered from a handy guide to the best 1440p gaming monitor, to the best noise cancelling earbuds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Cyberpunk 2077 ‘Overdrive’ update be free?

Yes, the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 Ray Tracing: Overdrive mode will be free to PC gamers who already purchased the game.

When will the Cyberpunk 2077 ‘Overdrive’ update come out?

The Cyberpunk 2077 Ray Tracing: Overdrive Update is scheduled for release on April 11, 2023.