Nvidia CEO calls DLSS 5 critics "completely wrong" and insists developers keep full artistic control
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has pushed back against the wave of criticism aimed at DLSS 5, insisting that those unhappy with the new AI technology are "completely wrong." The comment came during a press Q&A at GTC 2026 in response to a question from Tom's Hardware.
On Monday, Nvidia unveiled the latest iteration of its machine learning technology. Unlike previous versions that improved resolution or frame rate, DLSS 5 uses an AI model to alter the visuals of supported games on Nvidia graphics cards, adding what the company describes as "photoreal lighting and materials".
The announcement drew sharp criticism from players and industry professionals alike. The core complaint: based on the demos shown, DLSS 5 appears to dramatically change the original visual style of supported games.
Huang, one of the most influential figures in tech, responded:
"Well, first of all, they're completely wrong. The reason for that is because, as I have explained very carefully, DLSS 5 fuses controllability of the of geometry and textures and everything about the game with generative AI."
He added that developers can "fine-tune the generative AI" to match their game's visual style, and that the technology adds generative capabilities to existing game geometry without changing "artistic control."
"It's not post-processing, it's not post-processing at the frame level, it's generative control at the geometry level. All of that is in the control — direct control — of the game developer. This is very different than generative AI; it's content-control generative AI. That's why we call it neural rendering."
DLSS 5 is set to launch this fall. The announcement video shows the tech visibly altering the look of characters and environments in games like Resident Evil Requiem, Starfield, and Assassin's Creed Shadows.
Steve Karolewics, a rendering engineer at Respawn, was among those who took to social media to voice his criticism:
"DLSS 5 looks like an overbearing contrast, sharpness, and airbrush filter. Remarkably different frames with the rationale of photo-real lighting? Nah, I think I'll stick with the original artistic intent."
Nvidia also tried to address player concerns directly in the comments of its YouTube announcement video:
"Important to note with this technology advance – game developers have full, detailed artistic control over DLSS 5's effects to ensure they maintain their game's unique aesthetic.
The SDK includes things like intensity, color grading and masking off places where the effect shouldn't be applied. It's not a filter – DLSS 5 inputs the game's color and motion vectors for each frame into the model, anchoring the output in the source 3D content."
