Cyberpunk 2077: CD Projekt Red and Nvidia Emphasise the Need for GeForce RTX 4000 Series GPUs for Path Tracing Mode

The release date for Cyberpunk 2077 RT Overdrive Mode was revealed as 11th April earlier this month at the Game Developer’s Conference. Nvidia and CD Projekt Red expounded on how the arrival of the GeForce RTX 40 series GPUs made it possible to adopt this rendering technology.

This led to speculations on if only the latest, more powerful 40 series GPUs would be able to run Cyberpunk 2077 with the Patch Tracing update, especially since RTX 4090 launched last year.

We now have some clarity on the same from the horse’s mouth, as NVIDIA’s Global Art Director, Jakub Knapik, shed some light on the matter. Here’s everything you need to know.

What is Path Tracing and why does it need high-end GPUs?

Path Tracing or what Nvidia calls its Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode, is basically “full ray tracing” based on RTX Direct Illumination. As opposed to Ray Tracing alone that renders out individual elements of the frame, Path Tracing does it all at once, by rendering the image’s indirect path. As a result, the process becomes highly GPU intensive, making it the go-to in only offline rendering for products like films.

Nvidia explained at the GDC that path tracing in real-time, like for video games, has thus been impossible, “until the arrival of GeForce RTX GPUs with RT Cores, and the AI-powered acceleration of NVIDIA DLSS”. So, does it mean you need super-powerful GPUs to be able to run video games with path tracing?

What do you run Cyberpunk 2077 with Path Tracing on?

To quote Nvidia’s Jakub Knapik, “Yes! You want to have very high-end hardware to run that (Cyberpunk 2077 Path Tracing)”.

However, NVIDIA’s Senior Developer Technology Engineer, Pawk Kozlowski has said that they are targeting the entire RTX 40 series for a satisfying experience via the Overdrive Mode. So you don’t specifically require the RTX 4090 to better enjoy Cyberpunk’s Night City, an RTX 4070 will also do justice. As it is, Nvidia also launched DLSS 3 last year for the RTX 40 series GPUs last year, which complements Path Tracing or the Overdrive Mode.

As for Cyberpunk 2077, Path Tracing and DLSS 3 will be available with a new update on April 11th. Needless to mention, the game is also getting its first DLC later this year with Phantom Liberty.