NVIDIA DLSS 5 brings Hollywood-level AI graphics to gaming this fall amid controversy

I Tried Some Games With Nvidia's DLSS 5. It's Controversial, Yes, But Also an Eyeful

DLSS 5 on and off for the game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. (Credit: PCMag) Moving from one console generation to the next, we used to see huge graphical leaps. Remember those days? We thought that kind of epic bump was a thing of the past. Now, we're not so sure. Nvidia's newly announced DLSS 5 may be the kind of single-generation graphics jump that gamers haven't seen in some time. To be sure, it's already raising hackles and courting controversy -- so much so that CEO Jensen Huang had to give it a quick defense out of the gate in the court of public opinion. It goes well beyond the image-upscaling efforts of earlier versions of DLSS, and beyond the frame-generation efforts of later ones. At Nvidia's GTC event last week, I was given the chance to try a short series of demos of DLSS 5. Yes, it's early. No, it's not realistically optimized for existing hardware (yet). Even so, the technology wowed me several times, making me wonder: If Nvidia can make it work, is this the future of gaming graphics? DLSS 5: The Promise, and the Controversy DLSS is best known for using AI models to increase a PC game's frame rate for smoother gameplay, whether via upscaling (rendering a game at a lower resolution, then upticking it to a higher one) or frame generation (using AI to splice in additional frames between classically rendered ones). But last week, Nvidia introduced DLSS 5, which uses a "neural rendering" model to add photorealistic effects. It's a whole new layer to the DLSS game. The company has been quietly developing the technology for over three years. The result can make game characters feel startlingly alive by injecting even more shadows, textures, and definition over faces, clothes, and environments, creating a new sense of depth. But despite the improvements, Nvidia's DLSS 5 announcement has already drawn some backlash over concerns that the GPU maker is merely adding an Instagram-like image filter to game characters' faces. Another criticism is that DLSS 5 is acting like an AI slop generator and allegedly forcing AI imagery on top of carefully crafted characters created by game developers. Those worries were on my mind as Nvidia gave me a closer look at DLSS 5 at GTC. But as I saw the technology in action, it also became clear to me that DLSS 5 could take computer graphics to a whole new level. Eyes On With the Next DLSS One thing is clear: DLSS 5 is no simple face filter. Video-game rocks and stones suddenly looked like rocks from real-life. The same was true of trees, water, a medieval castle, the interior of Hogwarts School, and even an espresso machine: DLSS 5 added a new level of photorealism that traditional game rendering had struggled to achieve. Another "wow" moment came when DLSS 5 was activated during a demo of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Characters originally modeled two decades ago instantly began to look more like real people; their odd "potato" faces had vanished, replaced by fully fleshed-out faces with photorealistic hair, skin, eyes, and clothes. Sure, I was not seeing the ugly, but charming, facial models from before. But in return, DLSS 5 unlocked a new level of immersion. In Assassin's Creed Shadows, DLSS 5 turned the game's lush forests into something that seemed organic. The effects added even more variety to the light and texture of the dense foliage and rocks, making the depicted landscape indistinguishable from real-world photography. Crucially, the experience didn't feel fake or forced. Nor did it act like a conventional AI image filter, which can alter a person's face, but in a clumsy, heavy-handed way that masks over the original. Nvidia points out that DLSS 5's neural rendering is designed to understand 3D characters and objects, including colors, hair, fabric, skin, and movement, as well as the surrounding environment. In other words, the technology is supposed to preserve game models before enhancing them. The Power Question: What Will It Take to Run DLSS 5? That all said, DLSS 5 remains a work-in-progress. In fact, Nvidia demoed the technology using not one but two GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards -- each starting at $1,999, though actual pricing has since risen far higher due to the ongoing memory shortage. The goal is to optimize DLSS 5 so it can run on a single GPU. But in the demo I saw at GTC, one RTX 5090 card was used to render the game, while the other added neural rendering effects. That suggests DLSS 5 will need major tweaks to make it practical for the company's graphics cards. Nvidia will need to move quickly on its optimizations, since it plans to launch the technology this fall. We wouldn't be surprised if the initial launch is limited in scope. Other big unknowns include whether DLSS 5 will introduce a major performance hit -- a potential irony, considering that DLSS was developed to boost frame rates on sometimes underpowered hardware. How DLSS performs over an entire game is another major question. I was only able to briefly try out the feature in both Hogwarts Legacy and Oblivion, and my hands-on session was limited to walking around a single scene, rather than battling enemies or throwing magic spells. Understandably, some gamers may be skeptical or even alarmed, given the ethical issues and legal battles surrounding generative AI. At the same time, the PC market is reeling from an AI-driven memory shortage that risks undercutting DLSS 5 by inflating the cost of admission to buy Nvidia GPUs. But putting all that aside, I have to say DLSS 5 displayed the most realistic gaming graphics I've ever seen -- and I'm looking forward to experiencing more. Once you see DLSS 5 in action, it's hard to deny the potential it holds. In the meantime, Nvidia is already responding to some of the backlash, explaining that game developers will have full artistic control over DLSS 5 and can fine-tune the model to their liking. Some major developers, including Bethesda, Capcom, and Ubisoft, are already on board and preparing to support the technology in their own games.

Nvidia DLSS 5 games list: Every supported title we know so far

Earlier this week, Nvidia held a big press conference where it announced, among other things, something called DLSS 5. The long and short of it is that, using artificial intelligence, DLSS 5 "infuses pixels with photoreal lighting and materials." In other words, it uses AI to supposedly make games look more realistic on the fly, even going so far as to change lighting and character appearances. It will be available for some PC games this fall. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. According to Nvidia's press release, here is a list of games that will support the feature in the near future. Though, to be clear, more games than just these will support DLSS 5 over time: DLSS 5's announcement was met with some controversy online. Specifically, plenty of folks are unhappy about the idea of AI coming in and making transformative changes to a game's art direction, seemingly without any input from the game's creators. If you look at the Resident Evil Requiem example embedded above, Grace Ashcroft looks like a completely different person with DLSS 5 turned on. Environmental lighting can also dramatically change, giving areas a totally different look from what they were intended to have. The good news is that this will be an optional feature for some PC games, not something that's on by default.

DLSS 5 is coming to Resident Evil Requiem, Hogwarts Legacy, Starfield, and more

DLSS 5 has been announced, and NVIDIA has confirmed it's on track for a Fall 2026 release. With NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang describing it as a "GPT moment for graphics," it takes in-game data to leverage neural rendering, delivering dramatic improvements in lighting, visual fidelity, and both character and environment detail in real-time. "Bridging the divide between rendering and reality, DLSS 5 empowers game developers to deliver a new level of photoreal computer graphics previously only achieved in Hollywood visual effects," NVIDIA writes in the announcement. DLSS 5 utilizes a powerful new AI model trained on game objects and graphics, then adds per-pixel effects like realistic path-traced lighting, materials, detailed hair, and 'subsurface scattering on skin' to add an impressive amount of detail. Developers also have control over the intensity, color grading, and other elements of DLSS 5 to ensure that the art direction, aesthetics, and visual detail are consistent with the game's artistic intent. That said, the announcement has been controversial, with online backlash claiming that some of the results look like AI-generated photo filters and video effects. Either way, it's hard to deny the staggering difference DLSS 5 can make, and with that, here's the list of the first 16 games getting DLSS 5 support. NVIDIA has confirmed that the "industry's biggest publishers and game developers," like Bethesda, Capcom, EA, NetEase, Ubisoft, Warner Bros. Games, and more, are already on board and working to bring native DLSS 5 support to current and future games. DLSS 5 - Supports Games

NVIDIA DLSS 5 arrives this fall: Which games and gaming studios will receive this 'Hollywood' level VFX update?

NVIDIA confirmed Tuesday at its GTC conference that it will launch DLSS 5 this fall, introducing a real-time neural rendering model designed to elevate video game graphics to the level of cinematic visual effects. The technology represents the company's most significant architectural shift since the 2018 debut of real-time ray tracing, moving away from brute-force hardware rendering toward a generative AI approach. By analyzing scene semantics like hair, skin, and fabric, the model generates photoreal pixels that were previously impossible to render in a 16-millisecond game frame. This transition to AI-driven fidelity is expected to coincide with the rollout of the GeForce RTX 50-series architecture, specifically optimized for these new neural shaders. Neural rendering model (what DLSS 5 uses) is basically a super-smart AI brain trained to understand and improve pictures. It takes the game's basic frame (just colors and movement info from the game engine). The AI "understands" what's in the scene: Is this human skin? Hair? Fabric? Is the light coming from the front, back, or cloudy sky? Then it adds realistic extras like: skin that glows a bit inside (subsurface scattering, like real ears lighting up), fabric with soft shine, hair catching light naturally -- all while keeping everything consistent (no flickering between frames) and tied to the game's original 3D world (so it doesn't invent random stuff). It's like the AI is "painting" better lighting and textures on top of the game's picture in real time, making it look way more lifelike than traditional methods. The game renders a normal frame (but maybe not super detailed on lighting/materials because it's fast). It sends that frame's color data + motion info to the DLSS 5 AI. The AI analyzes it once and adds photoreal upgrades (better light bounce, skin glow, fabric details, etc.) -- all anchored to the game's 3D model so it's accurate and stable. You get a much prettier, more realistic image on screen at high resolution (up to 4K), and it runs smoothly because the heavy AI work is done efficiently on RTX GPUs (especially RTX 50-series). Developers can tweak it (intensity, colors, mask areas) so it fits their game's style -- like not making faces look too weird. While Ray Tracing simulates individual paths of light, it is extremely demanding on hardware. NVIDIA notes that a single photoreal frame in a movie can take hours to render, but a game must do it in milliseconds. DLSS 5 acts as a shortcut; rather than calculating every ray of light, it uses generative AI to predict and draw what those photoreal pixels should look like based on its deep training. Jensen Huang described this as the "GPT moment for graphics," where the AI is no longer just making an image sharper but is actively "reinventing" how the final pixels are created. "Hollywood VFX level" as stated in NVIDIA's press release means the graphics in games will look as realistic and detailed as what you see in big Hollywood movies (like CGI in Marvel films or Pixar animations). In movies, those super-realistic scenes take minutes or hours to render per frame on powerful computers because they use tons of complex calculations for perfect lighting, shadows, skin glow, fabric shine, etc. Games have only about 16 milliseconds per frame to look good and run smoothly (for 60 FPS), so they've always fallen short of that movie-quality look. NVIDIA says DLSS 5 closes that gap using AI, so real-time games can now have lighting, materials, and details that feel "photoreal" like Hollywood VFX without slowing down the game. Check NVIDIA GeForce's video on DLSS 5: While the press release mentions that the GeForce RTX 5090 features the path tracing and neural shaders required to push this technology to its limit in 2025, DLSS 5 is built on the existing NVIDIA Streamline framework. This suggests that while the newest RTX 50-series will likely see the greatest benefit, the technology is designed to integrate with the standard DLSS pipeline used by current RTX cards. The system runs at up to 4K resolution, ensuring that the AI enhancements do not sacrifice the smooth, interactive performance gamers expect. NVIDIA has secured support from the industry's largest publishers, including Bethesda, CAPCOM, and Ubisoft. Major confirmed titles include Starfield, Hogwarts Legacy, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Resident Evil Requiem. Other upcoming games like Black State, Phantom Blade Zero, and the The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered are also listed as early adopters. Developers from CAPCOM and Vantage Studios stated that this tech allows them to build "cinematic and deeply believable" worlds that were previously held back by the traditional limits of real-time rendering. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

'Night and Day Difference': Starfield Fans Defend NVIDIA DLSS 5, Finding It Transformative

The reveal of NVIDIA DLSS 5 last week was met with widespread skepticism, but the Starfield community doesn't seem to share the sentiment, judging by the reception of a video showcase shared on YouTube a few days ago by Plano Plays Games. The off-screen video was taken during last week's GTC 2026, chronicling the hands-on time the YouTuber had with Starfield running with NVIDIA DLSS 5. While the off-screen footage isn't of the best quality, it does a good job showing how the upcoming new version of NVIDIA's tech generally does a good job enhancing the lighting of New Atlantis and its futuristic, pristine feel. Some issues remain evident in regards to artistic intent, especially when it comes to the photorealistic character faces which don't seem to mesh well with animations and art style, though to a slightly lesser extent than in other games used to showcase DLSS 5, such as Resident Evil Requiem. With no combat sequence shown, it is currently impossible to know how the tech handles fast-paced scenarios. As already mentioned, what is somewhat surprising is the community's reaction to this Starfield NVIDIA DLSS 5 showcase, which has been generally positive. User UniOnDirectOr called it a "night and day difference," while igorallexsander described it as an "amazing technology." Others, such as Dan_102, are already dismissing the "AI witch hunt," feeling that the game looks "incredible" with DLSS 5 active. Even when the community expresses a more balanced take, the feedback remains mostly positive. User boneymines11 noted that it is "really impressive for a first iteration" and highlighted the lack of noticeable dips in quality during motion. They further argued that the tech is adding to the artists' work rather than replacing it, stating that the base level of quality provided by the developers is still required for the final result to look this good. No matter how NVIDIA DLSS 5 may look in its very early iteration, it is not escaping from the allegations that it makes games look like "AI slop." NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently said that he feels "empathetic" with critics, disliking AI slop himself, but maintained that is not what the tech will do. This common sentiment only highlights how the reveal left much to be desired, as Alessio Palumbo explained in his recent analysis.

NVIDIA DLSS 5: 5 games you can try it in

NVIDIA announced their newest Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) update yesterday with DLSS 5 and it wasn't without controversy. DLSS 5 was supposed to deliver "photoreal computer graphics" on par with Hollywood VFX but what it seems to be doing is overwriting the base graphics, effectively changing the art style of games entirely. The backlash is so bad that just the demo has got people on Reddit and X comparing it to AI slop which as a gamer is not something I want my games to look like. That said, DLSS 5 doesn't become publicly available until the latter part of the year so let's give NVIDIA the benefit of the doubt for now. Something worth noting though, NVIDIA hasn't confirmed older cards support yet, so unless you have a 50-series, you may not be able to try it at all. However, if you do have a 50-series card, here are 5 games to test DLSS 5 on when it does arrive. Also read: Nvidia DLSS 5 announced, claims to make your games look more realistic If you grabbed this from Epic's Christmas free game drops last year, this is the best place to start. It is an open world RPG where the lighting really makes or breaks the experience - the dark alleyways, the duelling arenas, the glow of spells casting shadows in real time. DLSS 5 will either make being part of the wizarding world feel more immersive or immediately make it obvious that something is off. Horror lives and dies by atmosphere, and Capcom has always pushed visual fidelity hard with the RE Engine. The grotesque enemy detail, the oppressive darkness, the way light catches a wet surface mid-panic, if DLSS 5 starts smoothing out the grime and texture that makes Resident Evil feel viscerally uncomfortable, you will know immediately. Horror does not forgive visual inconsistency the way other genres might. Also read: Resident Evil Village to Gran Turismo 7, top 5 games you need to try in VR Probably the most visually ambitious game on this list and therefore the most interesting DLSS 5 case study. Shadows has a very deliberate art direction built around ink-wash landscapes and the natural light of Edo-period Japan, which is exactly the kind of stylised aesthetic that gamers are worried will get overwritten by DLSS 5. Watch the foliage, the fog, and the way shadows fall at dusk. Those will be your tells. Competitive shooters have different visual priorities to everything else on this list. In Delta Force, clarity matters more than beauty, you need to spot an enemy through a dusty window in a firefight. So the question here is whether DLSS 5 introduces ghosting or artifacting that puts you at a disadvantage. If it cannot hold up in a fast-paced multiplayer environment, that is a much bigger problem than looking like AI slop. Starfield's procedurally generated planets have always struggled to feel truly vast and awe-inspiring, which is exactly why it belongs here. DLSS 5 either closes that gap or makes it more obvious, there is no middle ground on a barren moon. It is also a Bethesda game with a long modding life ahead, and that community will stress-test DLSS 5 in ways NVIDIA never anticipated. If it holds up well and looks good in Starfield, it can probably do that anywhere then.