Image: Push Square
Variable Refresh Rate, or VRR as it’s better known, has become the new PlayStation hot button problem – and Sony’s only got itself to blame. The feature was announced for the PlayStation 5 all the way back at launch, with the Japanese giant promising it would be added in a “future system software update” – it’s even mentioned in a bullet point on the back of the system’s box!
But, while some trailer small-print had suggested it may be added early this year, the next PS5 firmware update beta – which won’t even be pushed out to everyone for a number of months – makes no mention of it at all. Now it’s worth keeping in mind that it could be sneakily slipped into the beta last minute, or it could yet emerge as part of the final version of the system software.
However, the feature is conspicuously absent from Sony’s big PS Blog post on the subject, and fans are beginning to feel a bit frustrated. While you will need a relatively new television to take advantage of VRR, the idea is that it can reduce the appearance of screen-tearing and framerate dips, and has already proved a boon on rival boxes.
The problem here is PlayStation’s utter lack of communication on the subject. It’s been well over a year since this feature was announced, and the company has failed to provide a roadmap of how development is progressing and when we can expect it. Understandably, this has prompted some irritation among early adopters, as evidenced by comments on communities like Reddit and ResetEra.
With the way Sony runs its business these days, we wouldn’t be surprised if VRR suddenly emerged in this week’s beta test, despite not being mentioned on the PS Blog – and equally, we wouldn’t be shocked if the company went another year blissfully ignoring it. There’s a lot to love about the PS5 right now – the software schedule is insane this month – but a little less cloak and daggers secrecy regarding previously announced features would certainly be appreciated.
