As the interstellar universe of Bethesda’s Starfield begins to unfold, a plethora of questions have arisen, not just about a potentially never-ending and expansive cosmos but about the technology powering it. The one that stands out is lack of support for Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and Intel’s XeSS upscalers.
It has neither been confirmed nor denied that AMD is requiring sponsored games to use the company’s technology exclusively.
Ever since its initial announcement, Starfield has had players hoping for high-fidelity visuals provided by DLSS. Yet, it’s a lock now that Bethesda’s exclusive partnership with Advanced Micro Devices has impacted this. The hints (and backlash) were there all along. When it was revealed that Bethesda’s starry venture would orbit around AMD, particularly with AMD engineers deep-diving into the game’s Creation Engine 2 for FSR2 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0) implementation, it cast shadows over DLSS’s inclusion.
However, why does this all matter? Upscaling technologies like DLSS, XeSS, and FSR have become pivotal for gamers. It is these technologies that allow games to render at a lower resolution and then upscale, giving higher graphic settings and framerates for a set output resolution. Nvidia’s DLSS, particularly, has garnered acclaim for its AI-driven approach, which provides a superior end-product experience. On the other hand, AMD’s FSR is hardware agnostic, allowing it to work across various GPU vendors, making it a more inclusive tech.
So after combing through Starfield preload files on PC, I don’t see any sign of it supporting DLSS/XeSS. If true I think this would generate a lot of backlash for Bethesda & AMD (due to their refusal to confirm whether they block rival GPU vendor techs in their sponsored games). pic.twitter.com/U67On3x6Kt
— Sebastian Castellanos (@Sebasti66855537) August 18, 2023
But what does Starfield’s preload data reveal? Eager enthusiasts have jumped into the game’s files, attempting to find out more about the game. Findings from sources like Sebastian Castellanos provide a clearer picture. It seems FSR 2.0 is the only supersampling tech in play. This, of course, is not a complete surprise, considering AMD’s proclamation about being the “exclusive PC partner for Starfield”.
DLSS, being a proprietary tech, utilizes Tensor cores present in Nvidia’s RTX GPUs to create the upscaling effect. The result is so impeccable that most vouch for its use. The lack of support for this revered technology is indeed a blow, especially for those with the latest Nvidia graphics cards.
It’s tempting to pin the blame on Bethesda’s AMD partnership. But, as history suggests, this isn’t an isolated case. AMD-sponsored games have historically sidestepped DLSS, raising speculations about partnership terms that could possibly be restricting competing upscaling features. When quizzed on this, both AMD and Bethesda remained tight-lipped, with vague answers or sheer silence.
Worry not, because hope dawns in the modding community. The Renowned modder, PureDark, has expressed plans to incorporate DLSS 3 support into Starfield, as he did with games like Star Wars: Jedi Survivor. However, this comes with caveats. Mods aren’t as flawless as built-in implementations by developers. Additionally, while some modders have been open to freely sharing their innovations, others, like PureDark, have opted for a paid route via Patreon subscriptions. This raises legal and ethical questions about monetizing mods based on another’s primary product.
Furthermore, the frequency of Starfield patches post-launch can potentially disrupt mods, leading to repetitive installs, possibly even additional payments for updated mods. This detracts from the gaming experience.
While AMD’s FSR 2.0 will offer a decent upscaling experience for Starfield, it’s evident that the lack of DLSS will remain a sore point for many.
If it’s any consolation, Starfield doesn’t seem like it’s going to suffer mightily from it. The earlier leaks are tell a tale of a beautiful game befitting of arguably the biggest flagship title for the Xbox Series X so far. Bethesda, miffed by the leaks, should feel happy knowing that everyone is talking positive things about Starfield – a far cry from a few months back when everyone couldn’t help but criticize the game for its FPS lock, exclusivity to a single platform, and so much more.
