Credit: Nvidia
Nvidia hopes to redesign what gaming visuals should look like by announcing its all-new DLSS 5, an AI model that the company promises will deliver photorealistic visuals with today’s gaming hardware. Team Green called it “the most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since the debut of real-time ray tracing in 2018.” The company also says the new technology will allow game developers to achieve the level of photorealistic computer graphics that were previously only possible in Hollywood visual effects.
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What is DLSS 5?
Neither upscaling nor frame generation
Credit: Nvidia
DLSS started out as AI technology used to boost performance through upscaling and frame generation. DLSS 5 is something completely different. It is a model that can infuse in-game scenes to generate photorealistic renderings that handle complex elements such as subsurface scattering on skin, the delicate sheen of fabric, and light-material interactions on hair, all while retaining the structure and semantics of the original scene.
The way DLSS 5 works is by taking a game’s color and motion vectors for each frame as input, then using data from video AI models and infusing these with accurate real-time lighting and other enhancements that result in visually stunning results. Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, believes DLSS 5 will offer a dramatic leap in visual realism.
“Twenty-five years after NVIDIA invented the programmable shader, we are reinventing computer graphics once again. DLSS 5 is the GPT moment for graphics — blending handcrafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression.”
Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA
It feels like an AI video generator
Maybe a little too perfect
DLSS 5 is not an AI video generator; it simply sits on top of your game’s engine and enhances visuals. But from the first look Nvidia has shared, the results feel like something you might expect from an AI video generator. The showcase video is an interesting watch, and it definitely backs up the confidence Nvidia has in this technology, but from the few frames of different games that were shown, the results seem similar to what many on the internet would call “AI slop”.
AI video generators have been under a lot of negative light, and since DLSS 5 learns from these very models, the results carry a similar feel. There is no doubt DLSS 5 has the power to be a groundbreaking technology, but I can not shake the feeling that it is taking away what makes a video game a video game.
Nvidia said that developers will be able to control how much enhancement DLSS 5 applies, allowing them to maintain their game’s aesthetics and stay true to their artistic intent.
Arriving in fall 2026 on 15+ AAA titlesAnd it should work with today’s RTX GPUs
Game publishers like Bethesda, Capcom, and Vantage Studio have shared their excitement for the technology in their upcoming titles. Confirmed games with DLSS 5 support include AION 2, Assassin Creed: Shadows, Delta Force, Hogwarts Legacy, Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil Requiem, Sea of Remnants, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Where Winds Meet, and more.
Nvidia has also confirmed that DLSS 5 will not require any new hardware and will run on today’s GPUs, including the RTX 50 series, with work currently underway to further optimize the technology. That said, there is no exact release date as to when the technology will arrive, but Nvidia pointed to the fall of 2026, so the wait isn’t too long.
