"First of All, They're Wrong" – Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Responds to DLSS 5 Backlash
Nvidia just announced DLSS 5, an upcoming iteration of its AI software suite for graphics cards at GTC 2026. However, there has been significant backlash, due to the changes it seems to make to a game's aesthetic. But Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang disagrees. At a press Q&A event at the GPU Technology Conference, Jensen Huang took a question from Tom's Hardware's Paul Alcorn about the backlash to the technology, saying that "Well, first of all, they're completely wrong," while reiterating that control over the implementation remains with the game developers. "DLSS 5 fuses controllability of the of geometry and textures and everything about the game with generative AI," Huang said. "It’s not post-processing, it’s not post-processing at the frame level, it’s generative control at the geometry level."What is DLSS and why does it matter for gaming? And while that might be the case, much of the backlash seems to be over the aesthetic changes shown off in the trailer, rather than how the technology works. In that case, it's hard to suggest that what people see with their eyes is wrong, but according to Nvidia's CEO, well, it is. We still don't know what this technology will actually look like when it launches sometime this fall, but I suspect Nvidia will be looking for ways to show it off in a more flattering light as the year marches on. I've reached out to Nvidia for comment on this, and I'll update this story if and when I hear back. Until then, we'll just have to wait and see how DLSS 5 shapes up over the next few months. Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
Nvidia just announced DLSS 5, an upcoming iteration of its AI software suite for graphics cards at GTC 2026. However, there has been significant backlash, due to the changes it seems to make to a game's aesthetic. But Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang disagrees. At a press Q&A event at the GPU Technology Conference, Jensen Huang took a question from Tom's Hardware's Paul Alcorn about the backlash to the technology, saying that "Well, first of all, they're completely wrong," while reiterating that control over the implementation remains with the game developers.
"DLSS 5 fuses controllability of the of geometry and textures and everything about the game with generative AI," Huang said. "It’s not post-processing, it’s not post-processing at the frame level, it’s generative control at the geometry level."
And while that might be the case, much of the backlash seems to be over the aesthetic changes shown off in the trailer, rather than how the technology works. In that case, it's hard to suggest that what people see with their eyes is wrong, but according to Nvidia's CEO, well, it is.
We still don't know what this technology will actually look like when it launches sometime this fall, but I suspect Nvidia will be looking for ways to show it off in a more flattering light as the year marches on. I've reached out to Nvidia for comment on this, and I'll update this story if and when I hear back.
Until then, we'll just have to wait and see how DLSS 5 shapes up over the next few months.
Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor at IGN and the PC components queen. You can follow her @Jackiecobra
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