Nvidia is launching DLSS 5 on September 3rd, but the only title supporting the technology at launch is NBA 2K27, which arrives that day at 9PM PT on PC. The feature will officially be available on RTX 50-series desktop and laptop GPUs, as well as through GeForce Now cloud gaming. No other games have been confirmed for the technology, and Nvidia has not answered questions about when DLSS 5 might reach additional titles, nor has it reconfirmed that games shown in its March reveal will still include the feature.
The launch follows a divisive announcement in March, where the AI upscaling technology was described as a real-time generative AI filter for video games and compared to motion smoothing, but worse. At that time, Nvidia called DLSS 5 its most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since real-time ray tracing debuted in 2018. The company also emphasized that the technology uses AI to enhance a game based on its source content and gives developers controls to decide how those changes appear.
Nvidia’s initial demonstrations drew criticism and memes for significantly altering character appearances, including a widely mocked transformation of Resident Evil Requiem protagonist Grace Ashcroft. That game, along with EA Sports FC, Starfield, and Hogwarts Legacy, which were shown in the March reveal, still does not support DLSS 5. It remains unclear how the final version of the technology might look in those titles.
In press briefings for NBA 2K27, however, Nvidia showed that DLSS 5’s effects appear less dramatic than the original reveal. Shadows and textures added by the technology generally made players look more realistic rather than turning them into AI caricatures. Nvidia also demonstrated a range of developer sliders for determining how much DLSS 5 changes a scene, allowing developers to enhance certain elements, such as foliage or food, while leaving characters’ faces untouched.
Performance remains a major concern. While Nvidia’s original demos required a pair of RTX 5090 graphics cards, the company claims that a single midrange RTX 5060 can run NBA 2K27 at 1080p with ray tracing and DLSS 5 at ultra settings, provided the user has one of the fastest gaming CPUs and enables 6x frame generation, meaning the game renders only one real frame for every six displayed. Nvidia estimates DLSS 5 imposes a 50 to 60 percent performance hit, and an unofficial mod in Shadow of the Tomb Raider showed performance cut in half.
Journalists have not yet tested an official build of DLSS 5, but unofficial versions used by modders in older games like Control and Skyrim suggest that a small amount of DLSS 5 can go a long way. Nvidia has so far only shown examples that highlight the ideal version of what the technology can do and promote NBA 2K27. The company did not provide further details on broader availability or performance across its GPU lineup.
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