“It’s about creating colors that better match the vision of video game developers”

– Bill Mandel, Vice President, Samsung Research America

High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology has been revolutionizing picture quality in movies and TV shows for several years. Now, as Samsung pushes HDR10+ GAMING, the same visual transformation is coming to the video game industry. It benefits game developers and gamers alike, allowing them to maximize the modern graphics and realism of gaming.

Samsung Newsroom met with Bill Mandel, Vice President, and Steve Larson, Senior Manager of Digital Media Solutions, Samsung Research America, to talk about HDR10+ GAMING and how the technology is changing the gaming industry.

Gamers and game developers also deserve HDR

While HDR has dramatically improved the visual experience in television and film, its application in video games has been limited. Game engines have built-in color management systems that tell the connected TV or monitor what colors to display. However, since there is no communication between screens and game engines, users must manually calibrate their displays.

“HDR10+ GAMING creates a direct line of communication between the screen and the game engine”

– Steve Larson, Samsung Research America

In search of a solution, SRA began developing HDR10+ GAMING. By automatically adjusting HDR settings to the screen’s capabilities, HDR10+ GAMING enables a premium visual experience through precise colors, contrast and brightness.

“HDR10+ GAMING creates a direct line of communication between the display and the game engine,” said Larson. “The display can now understand what the game engine is doing, and the game engine knows what the display can display. This results in a much better visual output.”

“It’s about creating colors that better match the vision of video game developers,” Mandel said.

Developing a simple solution for artists

Game developers were the first to call for new technologies to overcome the limitations of HDR.

“The original need came from game developers themselves, who wanted their games to look as good as possible,” Mandel said. “They were having trouble getting the colors to display the way they hoped on all monitors.”

“We wanted the specs we released to be easy for game developers to use without burdening them with unnecessary overhead,” Larson said. “Once they integrate our specs into their game engine, they can use it for any game built using that engine. This greatly simplifies adoption across the industry because it’s not dependent on specific configurations or devices. It’s easy.”

Making life easier for players

With HDR10+ GAMING, gamers no longer have to mess around with controls and test patterns to calibrate their monitors.

“HDR10+ GAMING simplifies the process by automatically adjusting settings for games just like it does for movies,” said Mandel. “This makes it easy for gamers to get the best picture quality – just turn on the game and go.”

Because HDR10+ GAMING works on both TVs and gaming monitors, gamers can now enjoy a consistent visual experience with immersive graphics across platforms without having to set anything up. This standard is especially important because today’s gamers expect photorealistic graphics when gaming.

“When enabled, your device will automatically detect that HDR10+ GAMING is an available option in any compatible game and use that,” Larson said. “You don’t have to navigate through a hidden menu or adjust settings.”

Lowering the hurdle for the gaming industry

For game developers, a major benefit of HDR10+ GAMING is that it is free to implement. With the right application programming interfaces (APIs), they can integrate HDR10+ GAMING into their existing game engines without any special training.

“It’s very simple. Once developers integrate our specifications into their game engine, they can use them in any game built using that engine.”

– Steve Larson, Samsung Research America

To put these standards into practice, Samsung partnered with NEXON in September 2023 to launch the world’s first HDR10+ GAMING title, “The First Descendant.”

At the Summer Game Fest last June, the company showcased its latest Odyssey OLED gaming monitors with HDR10+ GAMING capabilities. The combination of HDR10+ GAMING and Samsung’s Odyssey OLED gaming monitors shows how advanced display technology can enhance the gaming experience in video games like Red Dead Redemption 2.

In addition, Samsung collaborated with partners such as CD PROJEKT RED on Cyberpunk 2077, bringing the game’s fictional Night City, California, to life like never before. The copy was a huge success, selling over 25,000,000 copies worldwide.

“We designed the system to be incredibly easy to implement,” said Larson. “In fact, CD PROJEKT RED told us they knew HDR10+ GAMING was something they wanted to use. They were impressed with how quick and easy it was to implement. Their team was actually able to get it up and running in about half a day.”

“This is a free licensed technology. We will see this technology used in many more games and on many platforms.”

– Bill Mandel, Vice President, Samsung Research America

A bright future for HDR10+ GAMING

Samsung wants to expand HDR10+ GAMING to include more game engines, especially those that are more niche. The company is already working with major studios and developers to complement their proprietary engines and some of the more widely used ones.

“By working with gaming companies, we will expand the HDR10+ GAMING ecosystem to ensure broader adoption and a more comprehensive gaming experience,” said Mandel.

This broad network will provide game developers with a versatile and powerful set of tools to create visually stunning games more efficiently.

“Because it’s a free license technology, we’ll see this technology used in many more games and platforms,” ​​Mandel continued. “For consumers, this means a consistent and immersive gaming experience across a range of devices – with minimal setup and maximum visual impact.”

Mandel and Larson expect the number of developers, games and users using HDR10+ GAMING to increase significantly soon.

“Expect great things!” said Mandel.