We have implemented improvements related to Ray Tracing in the last patch that went live on Steam last Friday (Patch 2, August 27th) however, thanks to community feedback, we have identified that these improvements didn’t deploy correctly for all Steam players. The following Hotfix addresses this issue and will improve Ray Tracing for all players on Steam.

Please note that the hotfix will (by default) turn “OFF” Ray Tracing for ALL players on Steam once the hotfix is delivered.

If you wish to play The Ascent with Ray Tracing enabled, please note you will have to re-enable it through the Graphics option in the Main Menu.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused; unfortunately this is the only available method for us to address the issue for the affected players.

Please also note since the last update on Steam, and in order to improve performance for all players, DX12 is now the default mode. Please make sure you enable DX11 in the in-game Main Menu if you were previously playing with DX11 and/or want to continue doing so. Note: after changing DX version, you will need to reboot the game for changes to be recognized.

For Nvidia card owners, if you are continuing to have performances issues with Ray Tracing enabled, please enable DLSS and this should resolve the issue.

You can visit this page to see the full details of our patch updates and hotfixes: https://www.curve-digital.com/en-us/ascent-patchnotes.

We are very grateful for all the feedback we’ve received from players and want you to know that our team is fully dedicated to continuing working hard improving The Ascent based on your feedback. Thank you everyone for your support and patience.

The Ascent Team