Fortnite RTX and DLSS support will be coming soon

If you thought the comically-styled world of Fortnite was technologically unsubstantial then Nvidia and Epic Games have the upcoming update for you: Fortnite RTX. 

While Epic continues to fight against Apple for mobile gamers, PC gamers will be able to experience the developer’s beloved battle royale title like never before with the introduction of real-time ray-tracing and DLSS support.

The upcoming Fortnite RTX update will include the following enhancements:

Ray-Traced Reflections:This setting adds beautiful, realistic, super accurate reflections to bodies of water and other suitably reflective surfaces in Fortnite. See game detail, characters, enemies, weapon effects, and more, perfectly reflected throughout the world. And experience improved lighting, as light sources and other illumination will be accurately reflected onto nearby surfaces and objects, making gameplay look and feel even more dynamic.

Ray-Traced Shadows: With ray tracing enabled, Fortnite’s dynamic shadows get a significant upgrade, enabling them to realistically stretch across the scene, with accurate softening as the distance from the shadow source increases. Particularly of note is the enhanced resolution of Ray-Traced Shadows. You can see this clearly in fine detail shadows, such as those created by chain link fences. Furthermore, Ray-Traced Shadows dynamically update as the time of day changes, with effectively infinite precision.

Ray-Traced Ambient Occlusion: Where objects or surfaces meet, light is occluded, creating subtle shadows. In games, this Ambient Occlusion (AO) is key to grounding objects and the smallest details. With ray tracing, we can make AO shadowing far more accurate, further improving Fortnite’s fidelity.

Ray-Traced Global Illumination: Fortnite’s maps and worlds are composed of dynamically built and destroyed objects, preventing pre-baked light interaction. Due to this, sky lights provide the only real-time environmental lighting. Ray traced global illumination adds additional bounced light that is otherwise impossible to simulate in Fortnite.

Nvidia even released a shiny new Fortnite RTX trailer to show off the purty new effects:

Alongside Fortnite RTX enhancements, the game will also benefit from DLSS AI upscaling. DLSS is a revolutionary technology that takes internal resolutions of just 720p and makes the game look as good (if not better) than true 4K. It’s actually mind-blowing. We suggest taking a look at the fantastic Digital Foundry video on the subject below:

With the reveal of Fortnite RTX, we wonder if the battle royale game will see real-time ray-tracing on its upcoming next-gen console upgrade. Hmmm.