Atomic Heart is a long-awaited first-person shooter videogame, with cutting-edge ray tracing technology serving as one of the game’s key early selling features. However, fans discovered that the game will not include ray tracing at launch, disappointing players who had been waiting for years to play it. The game will also lack features such as Field of View (FOV), picture mode, and HDR, pushing enthusiasts to develop workarounds.

When Atomic Heart was initially announced in 2018, the addition of NVIDIA RTX Ray Tracing, which would improve the appearance and style of the visuals, was a major selling point. Ray Tracing is a graphics method that enhances the realism of a title by affecting the lighting. Mundfish studio developers even made a film demonstrating the potential of the NVIDIA RTX.

Originally, Mundfish President and Game Director Rober Bagratuni stated to Wccftech that ray tracing will be featured exclusively on console versions of the videogame at launch. Ray tracing will be included in console versions of the game at a later date, according to the company. Nevertheless, as gamers downloaded the game to their PC, they noticed that ray tracing was not included. Fans have also noticed that they cannot modify the FOV in-game and must download a separate FOV slider. On Windows, Atomic Heart also lacks HDR and a picture option, with users discussing methods to integrate such capabilities on the ResetEra forums.

Fans were severely disappointed by the lack of features, especially given the game had been in development for four years. Further controversy has surrounded Atomic Heart, notably the title’s link with Russian and Soviet military motifs during the invasion of Ukraine. Despite the controversy, the game has received positive feedback for its robust fighting mechanics. To advertise the game, Mundfish published a big-budget trailer starring actor Jensen Ackles.