Real-Time Ray Tracing This Year

Photorealistic games are on the way, thanks to DXR

THE AVERAGE API isn’t that exciting, but Microsoft’s new DirectX Raytracing (DXR) will change everything. We’ve been looking forward to this for years, and now hardware has reached the point where ray tracing is feasible, and practical to do in real time, in a game. Microsoft has added what the process needs to take root: detailed standardized support embedded into Windows. It’s going to look fantastic, too, as long as you have a top-end rig.

The industry has known for months, of course, and has been hard at work behind the scenes. Nvidia announced its RTX Technology for its Volta cards, basically DXR support, as well as tools for the GameWorks library. Futuremark has also been busy experimenting with a ray tracing section for its widely used 3DMark benchmark software—a good sign that the games industry is taking this seriously. The game engines are also on board—Unity, Allegorithmic, EA, Unreal, and Frostbite all plan to add DXR support.