Games That Support Ray Tracing: Full List

Ray tracing is a rendering technique that simulates how light behaves in the real world, producing more realistic reflections, shadows, and ambient lighting in games. This article lists the major PC and console games that support ray tracing, explains what you need to run them, and answers common questions about the technology.

What Is Ray Tracing in Games?

Traditional game graphics use “rasterization,” which projects 3D shapes onto a 2D screen and applies lighting approximations. Ray tracing instead calculates the path of individual light rays as they bounce off surfaces, creating effects like:

• Accurate reflections on water, glass, and polished floors
• Soft, realistic shadows that change with light source size
• Global illumination where light bounces between surfaces (e.g., a red wall tinting nearby objects)
• Refractions through transparent materials like glass or ice

Because this is computationally heavy, games often use a hybrid approach: ray tracing for specific effects (like reflections) and traditional rendering for the rest. This keeps performance playable on current hardware.

How Ray Tracing Works in Practice

In games, the GPU (graphics card) has dedicated hardware to accelerate ray tracing calculations. NVIDIA introduced this with its RTX series in 2018, AMD followed with RDNA 2 (RX 6000 series), and Intel with Arc GPUs. Consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S also include ray tracing hardware.

When you enable ray tracing in a game, you typically choose a quality preset (low, medium, high, ultra) that controls how many rays are cast and at what resolution. Higher settings produce more accurate effects but lower frame rates. Many games also offer separate toggles for ray-traced reflections, shadows, and ambient occlusion, so you can pick which effects matter most to you.

PC Games with Ray Tracing Support

Here is a list of notable PC games that include ray tracing, either at launch or via a patch. The list is not exhaustive but covers major titles across genres:

• Cyberpunk 2077 – Ray-traced reflections, shadows, and global illumination (with “Psycho” settings).
• Control – One of the first games to showcase ray-traced reflections and transparent reflections.
• Minecraft (Bedrock Edition) – Full ray-traced rendering with the official RTX pack.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II / Warzone – Ray-traced shadows and ambient occlusion.
• Battlefield V – Ray-traced reflections (one of the earliest implementations).
• Metro Exodus (Enhanced Edition) – Fully ray-traced global illumination with no rasterized fallback.
• Resident Evil Village – Ray-traced reflections and shadows.
• Death Stranding – Ray-traced reflections and shadows (added via patch).
• Dying Light 2 – Ray-traced shadows and ambient occlusion.
• Hitman 3 – Ray-traced reflections and shadows.
• Fortnite – Ray-traced reflections, shadows, and global illumination (on PC and next-gen consoles).
• Portal with RTX – A free remaster of Portal with full ray tracing, including path tracing.
• DOOM Eternal – Ray-traced reflections and shadows (added in an update).
• Watch Dogs: Legion – Ray-traced reflections and shadows.
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider – Ray-traced shadows (added post-launch).
• Quake II RTX – A fully ray-traced version of the classic game.

This list will grow as newer games adopt the technology. Check the game’s official page or the NVIDIA/AMD feature lists for the most current support.

Console Games with Ray Tracing

Both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S support ray tracing, but the implementation varies by game and often requires a “performance” vs. “quality” mode choice.

• Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Ray-traced reflections in “Fidelity” mode.
• Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart – Ray-traced reflections and shadows.
• Demon’s Souls (2020) – Ray-traced reflections (in quality mode).
• Forza Horizon 5 – Ray-traced reflections in photo mode and in-car view (on Series X).
• Halo Infinite – Ray-traced shadows (added in a later update).
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Ray-traced shadows and reflections on next-gen consoles.
• Fortnite – Ray-traced reflections and shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
• Microsoft Flight Simulator – Ray-traced shadows (on PC and Xbox Series X).

On consoles, ray tracing is often limited to 30 fps because of the hardware’s processing power. Some games offer a “performance” mode that reduces ray tracing to hit 60 fps.

How to Check If Your PC Can Run Ray Tracing

To enable ray tracing, your GPU must support it. Here are the minimum hardware requirements:

• NVIDIA: GTX 10-series and 16-series cards do NOT support ray tracing (except via software, which is slow). You need an RTX 20-series or newer (e.g., RTX 2060, 3060, 4080).
• AMD: Radeon RX 6000 series and newer (e.g., RX 6600, 6800, 7900 XTX).
• Intel: Arc A-series (e.g., A750, A770).

You also need a game that supports ray tracing and enough VRAM (video memory). Most modern games with ray tracing recommend at least 8GB of VRAM. The game’s settings screen will usually show a “Ray Tracing” section that is greyed out if your hardware doesn’t support it.

Performance Trade-offs and Upscaling

Ray tracing significantly reduces frame rates. For example, a game that runs at 100 fps might drop to 50 fps with ray tracing on high. To compensate, most games support upscaling technologies:

• NVIDIA DLSS: Uses AI to render at a lower resolution and upscale, boosting performance while keeping quality.
• AMD FSR: Similar upscaling but works on any GPU, including NVIDIA and Intel.
• Intel XeSS: Intel’s upscaling, also works on other GPUs.

These technologies are often essential for playable frame rates with ray tracing enabled. For example, in Cyberpunk 2077, enabling DLSS can double the frame rate with ray tracing on.

Common Misconceptions

One common misconception is that ray tracing is only for reflections. In reality, it also affects shadows and global illumination, which can make scenes look more natural. Another is that all games with “ray tracing” are fully ray traced. Most use a hybrid approach, with only certain effects ray traced. Full path tracing, which simulates all light paths, is still rare and extremely demanding.

Another misconception is that ray tracing requires a high-end GPU. While it helps, mid-range cards like the RTX 3060 or RX 6600 can run ray tracing at 1080p with upscaling, often at 60 fps or higher in less demanding games.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an RTX card to use ray tracing?

No. While NVIDIA’s RTX cards were the first to support it, AMD’s RX 6000/7000 series and Intel’s Arc GPUs also support ray tracing. However, performance varies. Some older GPUs can run ray tracing via DirectX Raytracing (DXR) in software, but it’s usually too slow for playable frame rates.

Is ray tracing worth the performance hit?

It depends on the game and your preferences. In games with lots of reflective surfaces (like Cyberpunk 2077 or Control), the visual difference is striking. In fast-paced multiplayer games, the performance loss may not be worth it unless you have a powerful GPU. Try enabling it and see if you notice the difference.

Will ray tracing become standard in all games?

It’s becoming more common, but not all games will use it because of the performance cost. Many developers offer it as an optional setting, especially for PC and next-gen consoles. As hardware improves, it may become the default, but that could take several years.

Can I enable ray tracing on a game that doesn’t list it?

No. The game must be coded to support ray tracing. You can’t force it through driver settings. However, some mods (like for Minecraft Java Edition) add ray tracing via shaders, but that’s not official support and may require a powerful GPU.

Does ray tracing work on the Nintendo Switch?

No. The Switch’s hardware does not support ray tracing. Some games use fake reflections or pre-baked lighting instead.

What is the difference between ray tracing and DLSS?

Ray tracing is a rendering technique that improves visual quality. DLSS is an upscaling technique that improves performance by rendering at a lower resolution and using AI to upscale. They are often used together: DLSS can offset the performance cost of ray tracing.

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