Nvidia has confirmed it will officially release DLSS 5 later this week, via NBA 2K27, following a high-profile leak of the technology.
From September 3, DLSS 5 will be available in NBA 2K27 for all GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs and GeForce NOW.
Unlike previous iterations of DLSS, which improved resolution and frame rates, DLSS 5 uses an AI model to bring real-time graphics “closer than ever to Hollywood-grade photorealism”, according to Nvidia.
DLSS 5 was leaked last week via files found in an NBA 2K27 update, leading to widespread implementation of the tech in games including The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
When it was announced earlier this year, many games industry figures were critical of DLSS 5, partly due to how it was perceived to drastically alter the original art direction of its supported games.
Likely in an attempt to alleviate those concerns, Nvidia has published a video showcasing DLSS 5’s implementation in NBA 2K27, alongside a blog explaining how the tech works.
“DLSS 5 with 3D-Guided Neural Rendering takes the next step by using AI to generate the rich lighting and material details that real-time performance constraints once forced developers to strip away, allowing them to realize their original artistic vision,” the company says.
The blog post lays out Nvidia’s case for how DLSS 5 maintains developers’ artistic intent by allowing them to control where it’s applied.
“Through the DLSS 5 SDK, developers have several models to choose from, with different parameter weights that produce different outputs, allowing them to pick the model that works best for their game,” it says.
“This model choice can be applied to the entire game, or they can mix-and-match the models in different scenes. For example, artists can select one model for dense outdoor foliage, and another model for dramatic indoor scenes. They can also mix-and-match different models for gameplay and cutscenes, whichever fits their artistic vision.”
