In an unexpected shift in strategy, Nvidia has announced that its DLSS 5 AI rendering technology will eventually expand to RTX 40-series graphics cards. Originally, the company planned to launch the technology exclusively for the new RTX 50 series. However, the actions of the modding community, who successfully ported a leaked version to older hardware, appear to have forced the tech giant to reconsider.
Gradual Rollout and Hardware Constraints
Nvidia spokesperson Rajal Maharaj confirmed that while the priority remains optimization for the RTX 50 series, model updates for that series are expected later this fall. Once performance for the RTX 50 series is more fully tuned, the company plans to work on expanding official support to the GeForce RTX 40 series. Regarding older RTX 30 and 20-series GPUs, the company is taking a cautious approach, stating they are moving "one step at a time," despite modders already experimenting with these cards—albeit with stability issues and crashes.
A Simple Toggle for Users
Despite the expanded compatibility, Nvidia clarified that gamers will not have access to the granular settings seen in modded versions. For the end user, DLSS 5 will function as a simple on/off toggle. Control over parameters such as model selection, Structure Intensity, Tone Intensity, and automatic masking will remain exclusive to developers to preserve their artistic vision.
The Tech Behind AI Masking
DLSS 5 introduces significant innovations in object recognition. The technology can now automatically identify elements like textiles, foliage, or faces within a scene, applying different levels of AI processing to each object. Furthermore, Nvidia notes that its DLSS 5 models run on every single frame, meaning there is no minimum framerate requirement for the technology to function.
Uncertainty Over Game Titles
Despite the technical updates, there is lingering ambiguity regarding which games will ultimately support the technology. Nvidia declined to re-confirm the list of originally announced titles, such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Starfield, stating only that "more games are on the way" and that partners are finalizing their integrations.
