Sony Interactive Entertainment has acquired UK-based startup Cinemersive Labs, which specializes in converting 2D photos and videos into 3D volumes. The Cinemersive team will integrate into Sony’s Visual Computing Group, focusing on game rendering, video coding, and generative AI development.
The acquisition is seen as a strategic move to enhance Sony’s capabilities in visual computing for games. Cinemersive’s recent product, Parallax, utilizes custom AI tools to allow users to view parallax photos that respond to head movements, showcasing the potential of their technology in interactive applications.
Sony indicated that the Cinemersive Labs team will help advance its initiatives in state-of-the-art visual computing. “This includes applying machine learning to enhance gameplay visuals, improve rendering techniques, and unlock new levels of visual fidelity for players,” the company stated.
Machine learning is a critical focus for Sony, particularly in improving graphical performance for the PlayStation 5 and its upcoming hardware. The PlayStation 5 Pro features a new GPU, faster storage, and PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), an AI-powered upscaling technology that enables the console to run games at lower resolutions and upscale them to 4K.
An updated version of PSSR was launched in March, enhancing performance metrics for the PlayStation 5 Pro. Moreover, Sony is collaborating with AMD on Project Amethyst, aimed at further improving ray tracing and upscaling capabilities for future gaming consoles.
