The Dizzying World of Ray Tracing: Unreal Engine and AMD GPUs Collide

What just happened? Ray tracing was supposed to be the gleaming gem in AMD’s RDNA 4 crown, but instead, it’s turning into a bit of a goose chase. Users with shiny new AMD Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT cards have been scratching their heads as games built on Unreal Engine 4 stutter and freeze under ray tracing conditions.

Zooming In

It turns out the root of the problem might not be what you think. It’s not just those shiny new graphics having a crisis or AMD drivers having a panic attack. Instead, the culprit could be the very engine that powers our favorite games.

According to reports, the pesky stuttering is especially noticeable in games like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. If you were hoping for buttery-smooth gameplay, grab the popcorn, because it’s more akin to watching a slideshow when ray tracing is activated on these RDNA 4 cards.

Digital Foundry took a deeper dive into the issue, confirming these hiccups with gameplay footage and significant stuttering results. But why is it happening?

Interestingly, another YouTuber by the name of Tech Yes City clocked in to save the day. Their analysis suggests that some of these games run on a special Nvidia-friendly version of the Unreal Engine dubbed NvRTX. This version is optimized for Nvidia cards but leaves AMD’s RDNA 4 cards running sub-optimally.

Their findings? Some Unreal Engine titles aren’t playing nice simply because they weren’t built to. Instead of using the hardware-agnostic DirectX Raytracing, developers opt for Nvidia’s own enhancements. Great if you’re on Team Green, not so much for the Red Team.

Games like The Ascent and others show similar patterns, creating a challenge for AMD as they work to iron out what many hope is a temporary oversight.

So, what’s next for AMD and RDNA 4 users? The company and game developers will likely need to hash out solutions to ensure that everyone can enjoy their gaming experience, regardless of the graphics card loyalties. Until then, RDNA 4 owners may need to keep an eye out for future patches or updates that might smooth the way to glitch-free gaming.