Nvidia is preparing to launch its controversial AI-based image technology DLSS 5 on September 3. The technology analyzes real-time 2D frames after the game’s 3D engine has rendered the image, altering lighting, shadows, colors and details. Nvidia says that DLSS 5 does not alter shapes, generate new objects or produce different results under the same conditions. However, when configured incorrectly, it can make characters look older than they are, and existing games are considered to look better without the technology in some cases.
DLSS 5 is not merely a feature that can be toggled on and off. Developers and mod creators can adjust color and lighting settings and choose from three AI models offering “default,” “natural” and “cinematic” looks. The system can be applied to the entire scene or used only for faces and skin, vegetation, furniture, silverware or food. Developers can select specific areas automatically or manually, similar to the masking process in Photoshop. According to Nvidia, there is no limit to the number of masks or groups.
The first game is reportedly NBA 2K27. In Nvidia’s examples, the lighting details on Cade Cunningham’s skin, jersey and the ball appear more realistic. However, mod creators’ excessive application of the technology to cartoon-style games and character faces has drawn harsh criticism from the public. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara Croft and 27-year-old Kazuma Kiryu in Yakuza Kiwami are reportedly shown looking older at high intensity, while the effect remains more limited at lower settings. “Structure intensity” affects ambient occlusion, contact shadows, reflections and the way light is distributed across materials, while “tone intensity” affects color and overall lighting.
Rather than directly using data from the game engine, DLSS 5 evaluates colors and motion vectors in generated frames; however, it can take some cues from the engines. It is reportedly also capable of running in Nintendo Switch 2 video recordings and older games using OpenGL and DirectX 9.
For now, the technology is coming only to RTX 50 series graphics cards. Nvidia says the performance loss in NBA 2K27 averages 50 to 60 percent. In a test of an RTX 5090, the frame rate dropped from 312fps to 156fps. Nvidia had announced that DLSS 5 would come to at least 16 games, but did not confirm the release dates of games other than NBA 2K27. Player reactions to the mods remain divided between positive and negative views.
Why it matters
DLSS 5 is turning image enhancement from merely an option that improves performance into a detailed control layer that determines how a scene looks. While this gives developers and mod creators more room to intervene, it also increases the risk of changing how characters and environments are perceived when used incorrectly or excessively. Because the technology processes the image after the fact, it can widen the gap between the result produced by the game engine and the result seen by the player, making assessments of visual quality more subjective. Its limitation to the RTX 50 series and the reportedly high performance loss are prompting debate over the balance between the feature’s hardware requirements and its visual gains. When it will come to other games and how developers will use these controls remain unclear.
Background
Nvidia is no stranger to the FikirPilot archive: we have published 8 news articles mentioning the name in the past 90 days; the most recent was dated 1 September 2026.