NVIDIA announced DLSS 5 and showcased the results of applying the technology in games

NVIDIA announced DLSS 5 and showcased the technology's application results in games

DLSS 5 leans on AI to push visuals toward photorealism. It focuses on lighting — think shadows, bounced light, and highlights — while leaving shapes and geometry alone (e.g., it shouldn't alter the mesh or object placement). The result can look startlingly natural; sometimes you feel like you've seen the scene before, just lit differently.

Despite those eye-catching frames, Digital Foundry dismissed the presentation as "brazen advertising." One of their experts later offered commentary on what the demo did — and didn't — prove.

Comparisons were shown for Resident Evil Requiem, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Hogwarts Legacy, and Starfield.

The technology will also be supported immediately upon release in several other games:

• AION 2;
• Black State;
• CINDER CITY;
• Delta Force;
• Justice;
• NARAKA: BLADEPOINT;
• NTE: Neverness to Everness;
• Phantom Blade Zero;
• Sea of Remnants;
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered;
• Where Winds Meet.

NVIDIA video

Some developers have already started experimenting with DLSS 5 — big studios, incl. Bethesda, Capcom, Ubisoft, NetEase, Warner Bros. Games, and others — and shared early impressions. Reactions vary: excitement, cautious curiosity, and a fair bit of skepticism (i.e., people want to see how it behaves across different engines and hardware).

Video with Digital Foundry comments

The DF clip digs into specifics and raises questions worth watching if you're trying to separate hype from practical gains.