DLSS 5 leaked and modders are putting Nvidia’s AI effects on everything — SkimNews
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- RenoDX modders extracted DLSS 5's "Neural Rendering" file from an NBA 2K27 early-access build, first applying it to Control before expanding to Skyrim, Cyberpunk 2077, GTA V, GTA: San Andreas, and Palworld.
- The mod dramatically alters character appearance — in Control, enabling the "Neural Uplift" preset makes protagonist Jesse Faden's face paler with visible laugh lines and smeared makeup beneath her eyes.
- Performance costs are severe: a tester on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth reported FPS being "halved" and preset swapping eating "a TON of vram," while a GTA V run dropped from 90 to 29 FPS as sliders were adjusted.
- The mod initially required RTX 50-series chips but has since been adapted to run on RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 GPUs, per VideoCardz.
- Player reactions split between those who think the AI filters improve games and others calling them "AI slop" that look like generic AI image-enhancement filters.
- Nvidia first announced DLSS 5 in March, pitching it as AI-driven "photoreal lighting and materials"; early demos across Resident Evil Requiem, Starfield, and Hogwarts Legacy drew backlash over "yassified" character looks, prompting CEO Jensen Huang to say the tool "doesn't change the artistic control." Official launch is slated for this fall.
Why it matters: Modders stress-tested Nvidia's unreleased DLSS 5 across Skyrim, GTA V, and Control, exposing dramatic AI visual effects and punishing performance costs — halving frame rates and draining VRAM — ahead of fall's official launch. Adaptation to RTX 4090/4080 cards widens the potential user base, but the "AI slop" reception mirrors Nvidia's own demo backlash, pressuring Jensen Huang to prove the tool preserves artistic intent.
Ask SkimNews
