AI is leveling up the world’s most beloved games, as the latest advancements in neural rendering, NVIDIA RTX and digital human technologies equip game developers to take innovative leaps in their work.
At this year’s GDC conference, running March 17-21 in San Francisco, NVIDIA is revealing new AI tools and technologies to supercharge the next era of graphics in games.
Key announcements include new neural rendering advancements with Unreal Engine 5 and Microsoft DirectX; NVIDIA DLSS 4 now available in over 100 games and apps, making it the most rapidly adopted NVIDIA game technology of all time; and a Half-Life 2 RTX demo coming Tuesday, March 18.
Plus, the open-source NVIDIA RTX Remix modding platform has now been released, and NVIDIA ACE technology enhancements are bringing to life next-generation digital humans and AI agents for games.
Neural Shaders Enable Photorealistic, Living Worlds With AI
The next era of computer graphics will be based on NVIDIA RTX Neural Shaders, which allow the training and deployment of tiny neural networks from within shaders to generate textures, materials, lighting, volumes and more. This results in dramatic improvements in game performance, image quality and interactivity, delivering new levels of immersion for players.
At the CES trade show earlier this year, NVIDIA introduced RTX Kit, a comprehensive suite of neural rendering technologies for building AI-enhanced, ray-traced games with massive geometric complexity and photorealistic characters.
Now, at GDC, NVIDIA is expanding its powerful lineup of neural rendering technologies, including with Microsoft DirectX support and plug-ins for Unreal Engine 5.
NVIDIA is partnering with Microsoft to bring neural shading support to the DirectX 12 Agility software development kit preview in April, providing game developers with access to RTX Tensor Cores to accelerate the performance of applications powered by RTX Neural Shaders.
Plus, Unreal Engine developers will be able to get started with RTX Kit features such as RTX Mega Geometry and RTX Hair through the experimental NVIDIA RTX branch of Unreal Engine 5. These enable the rendering of assets with dramatic detail and fidelity, bringing cinematic-quality visuals to real-time experiences.
Now available, NVIDIA’s “Zorah” technology demo has been updated with new incredibly detailed scenes filled with millions of triangles, complex hair systems and cinematic lighting in real time — all by tapping into the latest technologies powering neural rendering, including:
- ReSTIR Path TracingReSTIR Direct IlluminationRTX Mega GeometryRTX Hair
And the first neural shader, Neural Radiance Cache, is now available in RTX Remix.
Over 100 DLSS 4 Games and Apps Out Now
DLSS 4 debuted with the release of GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. Over 100 games and apps now feature support for DLSS 4. This milestone has been reached two years quicker than with DLSS 3, making DLSS 4 the most rapidly adopted NVIDIA game technology of all time.
DLSS 4 introduced Multi Frame Generation, which uses AI to generate up to three additional frames per traditionally rendered frame, working with the complete suite of DLSS technologies to multiply frame rates by up to 8x over traditional brute-force rendering.
This massive performance improvement on GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards and laptops enables gamers to max out visuals at the highest resolutions and play at incredible frame rates.
In addition, Lost Soul Aside, Mecha BREAK, Phantom Blade Zero, Stellar Blade, Tides of Annihilation and Wild Assault will launch with DLSS 4, giving GeForce RTX gamers the definitive PC experience in each title. Learn more.
Developers can get started with DLSS 4 through the DLSS 4 Unreal Engine plug-in.
‘Half-Life 2 RTX’ Demo Launch, RTX Remix Official Release
Half-Life 2 RTX is a community-made remaster of the iconic first-person shooter Half-Life 2.
A playable Half-Life 2 RTX demo will be available on Tuesday, March 18, for free download from Steam for Half-Life 2 owners. The demo showcases Orbifold Studios’ work in the eerily sensational maps of Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt, with significantly improved assets and textures, full ray tracing, DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation and RTX neural rendering technologies.
Half-Life 2 RTX was made possible by NVIDIA RTX Remix, an open-source platform officially released today for modders to create stunning RTX remasters of classic games.
Use the platform now to join the 30,000+ modders who’ve experimented with enhancing hundreds of classic titles since its beta release last year, enabling over 1 million gamers to experience astonishing ray-traced mods.
NVIDIA ACE Technologies Enhance Game Characters With AI
The NVIDIA ACE suite of RTX-accelerated digital human technologies brings game characters to life with generative AI.
NVIDIA ACE autonomous game characters add autonomous teammates, nonplayer characters (NPCs) and self-learning enemies to games, creating new narrative possibilities and enhancing player immersion.
ACE autonomous game characters are debuting in two titles this month:
In inZOI, “Smart Zoi” NPCs will respond more realistically and intelligently to their environment based on their personalities. The game launches with NVIDIA ACE-based characters on Friday, March 28.
And in NARAKA: BLADEPOINT MOBILE PC VERSION, on-device NVIDIA ACE-powered teammates will help players battle enemies, hunt for loot and fight for victory starting Thursday, March 27.
Developers can start building with ACE today.
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