Skip to main content

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare's 4K performance analysed on PS4 Pro

With Modern Warfare Remastered impressions too.

At its heart, it's still Call of Duty - but both tonally and technologically, Infinite Warfare is quite a shift from CODs of years past. Sitting down to play the campaign on PlayStation 4 Pro, there's still the sense that this is the videogames equivalent to a full-on Michael Bay-style Hollywood blockbuster, but now the core aesthetic of the game has evolved to match the franchise's cinematic aspirations, requiring a significant shift in rendering technology. The question we had going in: what's changed under the bonnet, and can the title sustain the series' signature 60fps action?

We've already looked at the game late on production via two previous builds - the PlayStation Meeting PS4 Pro reveal, based on a snippet of campaign action, and the EGX multiplayer version. Single-player performance in particular was a concern, varying between 40-60fps. Understandably, multiplayer looked more solid, but frame-rate still dropped around explosive moments, and actually looked more impacted than the standard PlayStation 4 release based on completely unscientific comparisons undertaken at the EGX showfloor.

The happy news is that the final release code represents a huge improvement. Multiplayer is rock-solid, while the campaign gets very, very close to it - as you can see for yourself in the video below. Similar to Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1, the implementation of dynamic resolution scaling makes a key difference here, reducing rendering load in problematic areas, keeping frame-rate high. The base PS4 and Xbox One versions use a horizontal upscaler ranging from 960x1080 to full HD, with additional super-sampling provided via a temporal component. PS4 Pro uses a different solution, ranging from checkerboarded 1560p all the way up to full 2160p 4K.

The solution works on a number of levels - first of all, frame-rate consistency is impressive now, even in Infinite Warfare's most hilariously over the top set-pieces. Secondly, the aesthetic of the game lends itself beautifully to resolution scaling - on PS4 Pro, it's virtually impossible to see the changes in pixel-count as they happen, while checkerboarding artefacts only really seem apparent when analysing still shots. In motion, it's fine - they're submerged as part of the post-process pipeline, obscured to a certain extent by further effects work, not to mention the reduced motion resolution of all current 4K displays. Additionally, some of Infinite Warfare's post-processes passes actually occur at native resolution - the subtle film-grain effect, for example.

An extended hands-on with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, viewable at 4K, 60fps. A 4.44GB quality-focused download version of this video is available for DF patrons at http://www.digitalfoundry.netWatch on YouTube

On PS4 Pro, Infinite Warfare's presentation reminds us of Crytek's Ryse - while still very much CG in nature, the emphasis is on producing a filmic look that looks more natural. That means that razor-sharp geometric edges are virtually non-existent (making pixel-counting highly challenging) while the ultra-sharp texture detail you tend to see in gaming isn't really there. However, the rock-solid consistency in frame-rate and impressive visual design make this work - light plays off materials nicely and the post-process pipeline is highly accomplished. How good Infinite Warfare looks isn't defined by its pixel-count - moving from PS4 to Pro shows an iterative improvement (like moving from Blu-ray to UHD BD, sans HDR) but it plays just as well.

What I really enjoyed about the game when looking at it through a technological lens is to see just how different it is. There's a kind of unspoken assumption that there's a 'Call of Duty' engine that evolves over time, but what's clear is that each of the three major COD studios is pushing the technology in new directions with each release, to the point where Infinite Warfare and its immediate predecessor, Black Ops 3, feel very different. The new COD feels like a profound evolution of Advanced Warfare (post-processing elements seem to share a common base, for example), but the reality is that with COD now on a three-year development cycle, the game-makers will be rolling their own technology to achieve their specific goals.

And in actual fact, with the arrival of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, there's a strong argument that there's actually another COD studio in rotation - Raven Games. Again, MWR's presentation looks quite unlike any of the other COD games of the last couple of years, with its own aesthetic that seems to be building on Sledgehammer's work in Advanced Warfare.

DF's Dave Bierton and Tom Morgan team-up to take a look at Modern Warfare Remastered on PlayStation 4 Pro.Watch on YouTube

The end result is certainly a world apart from Infinity Ward's efforts, and that extends to its PlayStation 4 Pro implementation: foregoing checkerboarding and dynamic resolution scaling, Raven opts for a locked 2880x1620 presentation on PlayStation 4 Pro, offering an impressive, if slightly soft look on 4K displays, while 1080p owners get a small benefit from downsampling (in truth, anti-aliasing wasn't bad on base hardware). More impressive is the fact that Raven's chosen resolution also ensures generally smoother performance on Pro. The usual culprits - primarily, screen-filling explosions - see frame-rate dips on both PlayStations, but the Pro is less impacted overall.

It's interesting to note that all three of the major franchise shooters released recently employ similar technologies to provide both improved image quality and a tangible PlayStation 4 Pro enhancement - even if the actual implementations are somewhat different. Titanfall 2, Battlefield 1 and now Infinite Warfare are all using a combination of dynamic resolution scaling and temporal supersampling to produce good-looking results that scale well between Xbox One, PS4 and PS4 Pro. Respawn tells me that the dynamic scaler has now rolled out onto the PC version of Titanfall 2, as well - something we really want to see as an option on more PC ports.

Meanwhile, Battlefield 1 and Infinite Warfare add the checkerboarding technique to the mix to push on to higher resolutions, and again, the results work well overall. There's an acceptance that the most cutting-edge titles won't be able to hit native 4K on PS4 Pro, but there are still appreciable gains over standard PS4 hardware - and it's early days yet for Sony's mid-gen refresh. At some point, we'll have to ask the question just how close these titles are getting to providing the 'real deal' 3840x2160 offered by PC hardware - but that's an analysis for another time.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com