Report says PlayStation 4 unlocks more power for developers

One of the two processing cores the PlayStation 4 reserved to handle its user interface and other system functions has been unlocked for use by developers, according to notes in a recent update to software used to develop for the console.

Eurogamer, which noticed a reference to "the newly unlocked 7th core" in the changelog for the FMOD audio development software, says it has confirmed that the extra processing power is now available. The PlayStation 4 has eight processing cores, two of which are set aside to run the console's UI and other functions.

The extra horsepower does not necessarily mean better performance on existing games; a developer would have to patch the game for it to use the newly available core. It's also possible that, though games now have access to the UI's turf, its core functions may still take priority, varying the power available to a game's software.

In January, Microsoft opened up the seventh of the Xbox One's eight cores to supply extra computing power. However, developers found that system-related functions such as voice commands still took as much as half of that core's capability.