NVIDIA Ray Tracing technology is coming to Fortnite

NVIDIA is leading the charge in the next gen gaming experience. Fortnite will be added to the list of games using Ray Tracing technology in the near future

If you were ever involved in the Minecraft community way back when, there’s a good chance you used the “Shaders” texture pack that completely transformed how the game appeared. The sun reflected against water and objects similar to how the real world works

The “real world” gaming experience reached new heights when NVIDIA announced Ray Tracing technology would be added to their 2000 series graphic card lineup. Similar to Shaders, games that add Ray Tracing compatibility will offer gamers an unparalleled level of reality that wasn’t previously possible

In tandem with the new graphics architecture, Ray Tracing uses artificial intelligence to refine the light rays. After developers had time to implement these changes, Ray Tracing is now ported to many Triple A games

Ray Tracing Fortnite announcement & in game sneak peek

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Fortnite is offering Ray Tracing. After all, DirectX 12 is a necessary component for the new implementation. When Chapter 2 arrived, Epic not only overhauled their game engine but also added DirectX 12 compatibility and started optimizing over DirectX 11

The only question to the entire equation was… when?

Leakers got a head start and confirmed that Ray Tracing compatibility was coming to Fortnite at the start of Season 4

Ray Tracing has been added to Fortnite. pic.twitter.com/wcpZbgcTRf

— FireMonkey • Fortnite Intel ?? (@iFireMonkey) August 27, 2020

Game files suggest you will have two options when enabling Ray Tracing:

Ray Tracing Occlusion Description: Ray Tracing Ambient Occlusion can greatly improve the look, but can reduce performance

Ray Tracing Reflections Description: Ray Tracing Reflections can greatly improve the look, but can reduce performance

Both Ambient Occlusion and Reflections will have a direct impact on how light interacts with the Fortnite environment. Reflections should offer you that “Shaders” feel while Ambient Occlusion will offer more dark edges and shades using vector technology

Players found a way to traverse through the game files and enable Ray Tracing before its official release. Here’s some more snapshots which should give you a better idea of what to expect:

Notice in this picture how the player is actively portraying a shadow which will dynamically move based on the angle of the sun and player movement. Previously impossible, the RTX lineup will offer Fortnite a much requested visual buff and guide us to the new era of gaming

All around, very fun stuff. However while the technology is new, players have to pay a hefty premium to get early access. Even the budget RTX 2060 model holds a $300+ price tag - or about the same price as an entire console. Hopefully technological advancements will tear down the barriers to entry and offer budget friendly solutions

Until then, follow us on Twitter