Capcom sees DLSS 5 backlash as proof Resident Evil Requiem's Grace design worked

Resident Evil Requiem producer responds to AI slop version of Grace

Nvidia revealed its newest DLSS 5 technology in March. It's intended to make games look more photorealistic, but in practice drastically alters the appearance of characters. People quickly clowned on the "AI slop" tech, posting meme after meme online making fun of how the DLSS 5 can drastically alter a character's appearance. Resident Evil Requiem's Grace was the unwitting poster child for the DLSS 5 technology, and gamers by and large rejected her DLSS 5 appearance. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa seemed pleased with how players responded to the situation. "The fact a lot of players commented they really liked the original design of Grace and didn't want to see it changed was a positive," he said. "It meant we got the design right [and] points to the fact that Grace quickly established herself as a fan favorite, that people had such strong opinions on her design." Grace had something of an uphill climb to contend with in Requiem. She was a new character making her debut in the title. She was also paired with fan-favorite Leon S. Kennedy, meaning it would have been easy for her to be overshadowed. But that wasn't so. Fans quickly took to Grace; her anxiety-inducing horror sections provided a nice contrast to Leon's more action-heavy, over-the-top levels. Eurogamer notes Kumazawa couldn't comment on how his team was involved with the DLSS 5 reveal, if at all. Previous reports indicated that developers at Capcom were as surprised as viewers at home about the game's inclusion in the DLSS 5 reveal video, especially as they said the company has taken a very "anti-AI" stance on its recent and upcoming projects. Staff at Ubisoft were also surprised future Ubisoft games will support the Nvidia tech, with one employee saying, "We found out at the same time as the public." Subscribe for deeper takes on gaming tech controversies Join the newsletter to get focused coverage of gaming tech debates like DLSS 5 - balanced explanations of developer choices, player reactions, and the visual trade-offs that matter. Subscribing brings thoughtful context across gaming topics. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. If you're one of the people criticizing how Nvidia's new graphics tech will change the way Resident Evil Requiem and other games look, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang thinks you're "completely wrong." In an interview after the DLSS 5 reveal, he responded to the backlash by explaining the technical details of the graphics tech that he believed people misunderstood, while ignoring the fact that most players were saying they didn't want Grace, Leon, and more characters to be turned into AI slop. Related Resident Evil Requiem's Grace reveals why she let Leon have all the one-liners Hard to quip when you're running scared Posts 2

Capcom's glad we hated Resident Evil Requiem's terrible DLSS 5 AI demo, because it means fans "really liked the original design of Grace"

When Nvidia unveiled its AI-powered DLSS 5 tech earlier this year, Resident Evil Requiem was one of the titles on display. The yassified versions of Leon and Grace that accompanied the announcement were presented as next-generation graphics technology, but most people with eyes pretty quickly recognized them as a serious insult to the original game's art direction. For its part, Capcom is glad people hated the demo, since that means they liked the real Grace's look. "The fact a lot of players commented they really liked the original design of Grace and didn't want to see it changed was a positive," producer Masato Kumzawa tells Eurogamer. "It meant we got the design right [and] points to the fact that Grace quickly established herself as a fan favourite, that people had such strong opinions on her design." It's unclear how much input Capcom had into Requiem's appearance in Nvidia's DLSS 5 demonstration, but as part of the announcement executive producer Jun Takeuchi called the tech "another important step in pushing visual fidelity forward." I guess some might argue that Grace did, indeed, look "better" under the DLSS 5 filter, but that's largely because of all the traditional beauty markers. She's got brighter eyes, plumper lips, and clearer skin with DLSS 5 on, but it's tough to say the actual graphical fidelity has actually improved at all. And, personally, Grace doesn't strike me as the type to apply her finest lipstick before delving into unknown horrors. Nvidia has issued contradictory explanations of how DLSS 5 works, with CEO Jensen Huang insisting that it integrates with a game's internal rendering in order to apply its questionable magic. A few days later, another Nvidia employee confirmed that, nah, it really is just an AI filter applied over 2D images. DLSS has, up to this point, encompassed some genuinely cool and useful machine learning based upscaling tricks, but DLSS 5 is doing an incredible job of throwing that goodwill away.

Resident Evil Requiem Producer Sees DLSS 5 AI Backlash as 'a Positive' Because 'It Meant We Got the Design Right'

Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa has said Capcom sees the drama surrounding the DLSS 5 AI version of Grace Ashcroft as "a positive" because it proved Capcom "got the design right" the first time around. Kumazawa offered a deep dive into the development of the latest entry in the classic survival horror franchise during an interview with Eurogamer. When asked if the team took anything away from the conversation regarding the controversial Nvidia technology, he said the negative reaction only served as proof that fans preferred Grace's original design. "The fact a lot of players commented they really liked the original design of Grace and didn't want to see it changed was a positive," Kumazawa said without commenting on Capcom's involvement in the DLSS 5 reveal. "It meant we got the design right [and] points to the fact that Grace quickly established herself as a fan favourite, that people had such strong opinions on her design." Grace Ashcroft made her debut in the franchise as one of Resident Evil Requiem's two playable characters when it launched in February. Despite being paired with the titan that is Leon S. Kennedy, fans quickly fell in love with the part she played in its story. According to Kumazawa, it seems this is also partially why fans rejected the version of her altered by AI that Nvidia revealed in March. The footage revealed by the tech giant attempted to sell its DLSS 5 update as the next step in gaming visuals but was immediately met with criticism almost entirely across the board. While games like The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield were all featured in its reveal video, it was Resident Evil Requiem - specifically Grace Ashcroft - that was established as the face of most fans' dissatisfaction. Most compared the DLSS 5 version of the character's face to the kind of AI filters featured on some social media apps. One popular fan comment at the time said, "This is horrendous like someone put an AI filter on it like that's not even Grace." "I love seeing my comfort character turned into a sloppy AI mess!" another added. At least some Capcom developers seemingly did not know Nvidia had plans to include Resident Evil Requiem in the DLSS 5 showcase prior to its reveal. Bethesda also later acknowledged the backlash, explaining that its artists would have more control over the technology and would hopefully avoid AI criticisms in the future. Capcom has said it plans to utilize AI to help it during game development, but will steer clear of generative AI. In the meantime, Kumazawa makes it sound like players don't need to worry about Grace getting an AI-generated makeover any time soon. For more on how gamers responded to DLSS 5, you can read about why Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang feels fans are "wrong" about the tech. You can also read up on why we felt DLSS 5 is a slap in the face to the art of video game design. If you're looking to read more about Resident Evil Requiem, you can check out the PC mod that added the Merchant into the game.