You'd think that the best place to play console games of any description in 2025 would be the PS5 Pro, but as demonstrated by The Outer Worlds 2 last week, that's not always the case. The latest Xbox games ran into problems on the new PlayStation hardware, and Obsidian had to temporarily bypass the Pro's PSSR to fix the problem.
Outer Worlds 2's v1.0.4.1 patch was rolled out over the weekend, and one of the main issues it “fixes” is the way the sequel looks and runs on PS5 Pro. The patch confirms that, to fix the problem, Obsidian has had to effectively roll back Outer Worlds 2's PSSR capabilities and rely on TSR instead.
The Outer Worlds 2 has been “fixed” on PS5 Pro
“PS5 Pro now uses TSR for upscaling to address blurry grass on Paradise Island and unexpected lighting noise throughout the game,” read the latest patch notes (thanks, Push Square). For the uninitiated, PSSR is the advanced machine learning used to make games look and run better on the PS5 Pro, while TSR is the method used by the base PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
To account for the differences between the two actions, TSR takes data from previous frames and uses it to upscale the game to a higher quality. PSSR, the PS5 Pro's main selling point, instead uses machine learning, which should, in theory, result in better-looking, smoother-running versions of the same games when played on other consoles.
That hasn't been the case for The Outer Worlds 2, and while Obsidian hasn't specifically noted that this will be a temporary fix, it seems likely. PSSR is a new technology that has yet to be fully utilized by developers, especially those working at Xbox-owned studios. The switch to TSR was probably made because the devs are very familiar with it, so it can serve as a temporary fix while the PSSR issue is being addressed behind the scenes.
This isn't the first instance of the game launching and players quickly discover that it looks and runs worse on the PS5 Pro than on other, less powerful platforms. The Silent Hill 2 remake ran into similar issues, as did Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Delta's Pro issues were eventually fixed, but it took Konami a few months to figure it out. If you want The Outer Worlds 2 to look its best on the latest PS5 console, you might want to wait.
- issued
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October 29, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Intense violence, blood and gore, strong language
