Why it matters: As AMD adds Starfield to its stable of sponsored PC games, Nvidia RTX graphics card owners fear the game will never implement DLSS tech. Many have noted a pattern of AMD-promoted titles omitting DLSS but not viceversa.
When Wccftech asked AMD why almost none of the games the company promotes support DLSS, Team Red didn’t deny the trend. The response has raised suspicions that most AMD marketing deals deliberately block DLSS, while Nvidia-sponsored games usually include AMD’s FSR upscaling.
The outlet compiled a list of recent major releases, indicating which GPU manufacturer promoted a title and when they implemented either upscaling solution. Most titles under AMD partnerships like Far Cry 6, Resident Evil 4, or Dead Island 2 only support FSR. Conversely, both methods are supported by Nvidia-sponsored games like Redfall, Diablo IV, Ghostwire Tokyo, and Death Stranding.
Except for Square Enix’s Forspoken, the only recent AMD sponsored games that include DLSS are all published by Sony. If Team Red’s promotions indeed stipulate FSR exclusivity, perhaps Sony has more bargaining power to allow DLSS in titles like The Last of Us Part 1, Uncharted, and God of War.
Release Date
Title
Sponsor
FSR Implementation
DLSS Implementation
June 6, 2023
Diablo IV
Nvidia
On Release
On Release
March 2, 2023
Redfall
Nvidia
On Release
On Release
April 28, 2023
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
AMD
On Release
Not Supported
April 21, 2023
Dead Island 2
AMD
On Release
Not Supported
March 28, 2023
The Last of Us Part 1
AMD
On Release
On Release
March 23, 2023
Resident Evil 4 (2023)
AMD
On Release
Not Supported
January 24, 2023
Forspoken
AMD
On Release
On Release
December 2, 2022
The Callisto Protocol
AMD
On Release
Not Supported
December 1, 2022
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Nvidia
Not Supported
On Release
November 30, 2022
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
Nvidia
On Release
On Release
October 19, 2022
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection
AMD
On Release
On Release
August 23, 2022
Saints Row
AMD
November 29, 2022
Not Supported
August 12, 2022
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
Nvidia
On Release
On Release
May 25, 2022
Snipe Elite 5
AMD
On Release
Not Supported
March 30, 2022
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut
Nvidia
September 28, 2022
On Release
March 24, 2022
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Nvidia
On Release
On Release
November 15, 2021
Halo Infinite
AMD
Not Supported
Not Supported
October 26, 2021
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
Nvidia
February 11, 2022
On Release
October 7, 2021
Far Cry 6
AMD
On Release
Not Supported
October 6, 2021
Battlefield 2042
Nvidia
Not Supported
On Release
May 7, 2021
Resident Evil Village
AMD
July 19, 2021
Not Supported
November 23, 2020
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
AMD
Not Supported
Not Supported
In response to the accusations, AMD cited PCGamingWiki’s comprehensive list of games that use advanced upscaling, noting that many only use DLSS. While the number of DLSS exclusive games from small and independent developers isn’t insignificant, most significant releases that exclude FSR – Like Rainbow Six Siege or Fortnite – initially launched before AMD introduced the technology in 2021. Some games from 2020 or earlier, like Doom Eternal, added DLSS relatively recently while ignoring FSR.
The only recent high-profile titles that omit FSR are Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Sackboy, and A Plague Tale: Requiem. Since the introduction of FSR 2 last year, more games have supported both upscaling technologies than exclude AMD’s.
Furthermore, Nvidia has explicitly stated that its marketing deals don’t include clauses to lock out FSR. “Nvidia does not and will not block, restrict, discourage, or hinder developers from implementing competitor technologies in any way,” said Nvidia developer relations VP Keita Lida.
The primary advantage of FSR is that it works on all modern graphics cards regardless of make, while DLSS requires Nvidia hardware. Most comparisons give DLSS the advantage concerning image quality, while both solutions significantly improve game performance.
However, the technologies aren’t mutually exclusive. It’s unclear what, if anything, is stopping well-funded game studios from including both, especially since modders have filled in the gaps multiple times. Virtually every game that exclusively supports DLSS or FSR 2 has received a mod adding the other.
Prolific modder “PureDark” famously added DLSS 3 into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Fallout 4. There’s a good chance that him or someone else will develop an unofficial DLSS plugin for Starfield if this trend of AMD sponsored games excluding the rival tech continues, especially since Bethesda confirmed the game will support FSR 2.
