Ray Tracing Overdrive: What GTA 6 Needs to Learn from Cyberpunk 2077

By [Your Tech Persona] | December 24, 2025

The wait for Grand Theft Auto VI is agonizing, but it gives us time to look at the current titans of graphical fidelity to see what Rockstar Games is up against. Right now, the undisputed king of visual tech isn't a new release—it’s Cyberpunk 2077 running in Ray Tracing: Overdrive Mode.

While Rockstar’s proprietary RAGE 9 engine is rumored to feature revolutionary water physics and next-gen rendering, CD Projekt Red (CDPR) has already laid down the gauntlet with full Path Tracing. If GTA 6 wants to claim the crown for the most immersive open world ever made, it needs to study the playbook written by Night City’s most demanding graphical setting.

Here is what GTA 6 needs to learn from the visual splendor of Cyberpunk 2077’s Overdrive mode.

1. Global Illumination is the "Glue" of Reality

Standard Ray Tracing (RT) often feels like a gimmick—a shiny puddle here, a realistic shadow there. Ray Tracing Overdrive in Cyberpunk 2077 is different because it utilizes Path Tracing.

Unlike standard RT, which tracks a single bounce of light, Path Tracing simulates the physics of light rays bouncing multiple times throughout the scene. This creates Global Illumination (GI) that acts as a visual "glue," blending characters into the environment so they don't look like they are floating on top of it.

• The Lesson for GTA 6: Vice City is a land of extremes—neon-soaked nightclubs and blindingly bright Florida beaches. Without robust Ray Traced Global Illumination (RTGI), interiors will look flat and disconnected from the bright outdoors. Rockstar needs to prioritize RTGI over flashy reflections to ensure the world feels physically coherent.

2. Night City vs. Vice City: The Neon Problem

One of the crowning achievements of Overdrive mode is RTXDI (Ray Tracing Direct Illumination). In traditional games, only a few "hero" lights cast shadows. In Cyberpunk's Overdrive mode, thousands of light sources—from billboards to car headlights—cast physically accurate shadows and colored lighting.

• The Lesson for GTA 6: Vice City is famous for its neon aesthetic. If GTA 6 uses traditional "baked" lighting for its street lamps and neon signs, it will feel dated instantly. Rockstar must implement a system where every neon sign contributes to the scene's lighting. When you drive a Banshee past a pink hotel at night, the car’s paint should actually glow pink from the bounce light.

3. The Necessity of AI Upscaling (DLSS & PSSR)

Let’s be real: Path Tracing melts hardware. Cyberpunk 2077 Overdrive is virtually unplayable at native 4K, even on an RTX 4090. It relies heavily on DLSS 3.5 (Ray Reconstruction) to denoise the image and generate frames.

• The Lesson for GTA 6: GTA 6 is a console-first title. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X cannot brute-force Path Tracing.

  • For Consoles: Rockstar must lean heavily on upscaling tech. With the PS5 Pro utilizing PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution), GTA 6 has a chance to implement a "lite" version of path tracing (perhaps just for GI) by offloading the heavy lifting to AI upscalers.

  • Optimization is King: CDPR proved that you can push visuals to the breaking point if you have good reconstruction tech. Rockstar needs to ensure RAGE 9 plays nice with FSR and PSSR to deliver next-gen lighting at 60 FPS.

4. Grounding the World with Shadows

In standard games, tiny objects often lack shadows, making them look like video game assets. Overdrive mode fixes this with contact hardening shadows—shadows that get softer the further they are from the object. This is subtle, but it subconsciously tells your brain, "This is real."

• The Lesson for GTA 6: In a game where we expect to see high-fidelity clothing, car interiors, and lush vegetation (the "Grassrivers" swamps), accurate contact shadows are non-negotiable. If the alligator in the swamp doesn't cast a perfect shadow on the mud, the immersion breaks.

The Verdict: RAGE 9 vs. The Path Tracing Future

Rumors suggest the RAGE 9 engine will feature physically simulated water and light that exceeds anything we saw in Red Dead Redemption 2. While full Path Tracing might be too heavy for current consoles, adopting the principles of Overdrive—unified lighting, infinite shadow-casting lights, and AI-assisted rendering—is the only way GTA 6 will live up to a decade of hype.

We don't just want a bigger map; we want a world that lights up like the real one.