NVIDIA DLSS 5 Paints Game Graphics With AI-Infused Photorealistic Details

During NVIDIA's GTC 2026 keynote, CEO Jensen Huang gave attendees a sneak-peek at DLSS 5 leveraging neural rendering technology, with an array of brief clips of Resident Evil Requiem, Hogwarts Legacy, Starfield and EA Sports' FC '26. The newest game in that group is Resident Evil Requiem, and its already leading-edge, path-traced graphics were even further enhanced by DLSS 5's neural rendering.

With DLSS 5, games with or without path tracing or ray tracing will reportedly see substantial improvements to visual fidelity. DLSS 5 factors in techniques like global illumination, subsurface scattering, and more, over and above just ray tracing, to generate more accurate realistic lighting and other effects. As such, there may be some unintended changes to the original artwork introduced by DLSS 5's neural rendering techniques, but keep in mind DLSS 5 is also a work in progress. In fact, DLSS 5 is not due to arrive until the fall, and the demos needed to be run on two NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090s in parallel. Developers, however, will have full control over how much DLSS 5's neural rendering is allowed to change, depending on the artwork in-game. For example, cartoony or cel-shaded games will require different optimizations than more photorealistic titles, so developers will be able to tweak DLSS 5 as necessary.


For a look at the technology in action, NVIDIA's official reveal video is embedded below. In motion, the visual fidelity and lighting / shadows in games like Starfield is significantly improved. With the help of DLSS 5, the game looks like a modern, cutting-edge AAA title, and while features like its facial animations still look somewhat dated, the final scene is a huge jump from the original release.

Publishers and developers already seem to be onboard as well. In its announcement blog post, NVIDIA says Bethesda, Capcom, Hotta Studio, NetEase, NCSOFT, S-Game, Tencent, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Games will all integrate DLSS 5. DLSS 5 will also be arriving in updates for AION 2, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Black State, CINDER CITY, Delta Force, Hogwarts Legacy, Justice, NARAKA: BLAKDEPOINT, NTE: Neverness to Everness, Phantom Blade Zero, Resident Evil Requiem, Sea of Remnants, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, Where Winds Meet, "and more".

DLSS 5 is expected to arrive for NVIDIA GeForce RTX gamers in the Fall this year.