DLSS 5 looks like a real-time generative AI filter for video games

Nvidia announced DLSS 5 on Monday during its GTC conference, and based on early reactions, it’s going to be a divisive update, with some reactions calling it “slop” that unacceptably alters artistic intent. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is calling this the “GPT moment for graphics — blending hand-crafted rendering with generative AI to deliver a dramatic leap in visual realism while preserving the control artists need for creative expression.”

In games that support DLSS 5, the tools can immediately provide noticeable boosts to lighting and shadows, but unlike previous versions of upscaling that used machine learning to close the gap between high and low graphics settings, this version applies generative AI to rework the lighting and materials with details that feel newly added. Examples shown by Nvidia today from Resident Evil Requiem, Starfield, Hogwarts Legacy, and EA Sports FC each look more life-like, yes, but the DLSS 5 versions have changes that look familiar to the “AI slop” updates we’ve seen applied to photography, video, and other creative endeavors.

According to Nvidia, “The AI model is 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. DLSS 5 then uses its deep understanding to generate visually precise images that handle complex elements such as subsurface scattering on skin, the delicate sheen of fabric and light-material interactions on hair, all while retaining the structure and semantics of the original scene.”

The most noticeable impact is that DLSS 5 seems to make significant changes to how character models appear. In the case of Requiem, generative AI inserted over the original assets makes protagonist Grace Ashcroft look totally different, like she used an Instagram filter that made her lips fuller, and applied intense eye shadow.

Its application in Starfield delivers similarly uncanny results, as though the sharpness is turned up to the maximum, and bright highlights that make their features and hair look stage lit despite standing in an environment that doesn’t have that kind of lighting. Nvidia quotes Todd Howard, studio head at Bethesda Game Studios, saying that “When NVIDIA showed us DLSS 5 and we got it running in Starfield, it was amazing how it brought it to life. We’ve played it. We can’t wait for all of you to do so as well.”

DLSS 5 can run in real-time at up to 4K resolution, and while it will certainly satisfy some gamers and developers waiting to see photorealism in more titles, the effect won’t work for everyone. Game developer Mike Bithell wrote “For when you absolutely, positively, don’t want any art direction in your gaming experience. Disappointing to see anyone take this nonsense seriously. Such a mess.”

However, Nvidia says that it provides game developers with controls to let them decide on how DLSS 5 impacts a game’s look, so it’s possible that by the time it ships, the in-game effects will be different than what we’re seeing here.

Nvidia:

DLSS 5 honors artistic intent in two ways:

Inputting the game’s color and motion vectors for each frame into the model, anchoring the output in the source 3D content.
By providing developers with detailed controls such as intensity and color grading. Artists can use these controls to adjust blending, contrast, saturation, and gamma, and determine where and how enhancements are applied to maintain the game’s unique aesthetic. Developers can also mask specific objects or areas to be excluded from enhancement.

DLSS 5 is coming this fall, and so far, it’s only confirmed to be compatible with a select number of games, which, in addition to those previously mentioned, include big titles like The Elder Scrolls VI: Oblivion remake and Assassin’s Creed Shadows.