Nvidia teased an upcoming new version of DLSS that can add photorealistic graphics to games in real-time, going beyond merely increasing frame rates.
Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, previewed DLSS 5 during a keynote at the company’s annual GTC event, a few months after the GPU maker introduced DLSS 4.5 at January’s CES.
The company calls DLSS 5 “the most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since the debut of real-time ray tracing in 2018.” The AI model involved has been dubbed “neural rendering.”
(Credit: Nvidia)
In a video, Huang showed a few PC games running with DLSS 5 off, then turned on. The difference was stark. Human faces that previously looked basic and bland suddenly came to life with greater definition and more realistic skin textures, including wrinkles and facial hair.
The video demoed the feature on titles including Starfield, Resident Evil Requiem, and Hogwarts Legacy. However, Huang only teased the technology, without revealing how it works. Still, the company has published a blog post that reveals a bit more, including that DLSS 5 is slated to launch this fall.
“DLSS 5 takes a game’s color and motion vectors for each frame as input, and uses an AI model to infuse the scene with photoreal lighting and materials that are anchored to source 3D content and consistent from frame to frame,” the company says. “DLSS 5 runs in real time at up to 4K resolution for smooth, interactive gameplay.”
To pull this off, Nvidia created an AI model that’s “trained end to end to understand complex scene semantics such as characters, hair, fabric, and translucent skin, along with environmental lighting conditions like front-lit, back-lit, or overcast—all by analyzing a single frame.”
(Credit: Michael Kan)
This suggests that DLSS 5 operates like a real-time AI-powered filter that can add more detail to faces, clothing, and environments. However, Nvidia notes game developers can tinker with the DLSS “so artists can determine where and how enhancements are applied to maintain each game’s unique aesthetic.”
Nvidia cited the top gaming developers, including Bethesda, Capcom, Hotta Studio, NetEase, Tencent, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros., whose games plan to support DLSS 5. We’ll be curious to learn more, including whether it comes with certain compromises and how it affects frame rates.
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About Our Expert
Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
Experience
I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.
Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.
I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. Earlier this year, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.
I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how President Trump’s tariffs will affect the industry. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.
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