Nvidia sets DLSS 5 launch for Friday, RTX 50 GPUs only
Nvidia’s new AI-driven rendering system will debut in NBA 2K27 on 4 September in the UK, with official support limited to RTX 50-series hardware and GeForce NOW Ultimate.
What you need to know
- DLSS 5 arrives with NBA 2K27 on 4 September, following a driver release at about 5am BST.
- Official support covers RTX 50-series desktop and laptop GPUs, plus GeForce NOW Ultimate cloud machines.
- RTX 40-series and older cards are not officially supported at launch.
DLSS 5 arrives in the UK on Friday morning
Nvidia will launch DLSS 5 on Thursday 3 September at 9pm Pacific Time, which is about 5am BST on Friday 4 September in the UK. The first game to support the technology will be Visual Concepts’ NBA 2K27, which also launches on PC that day.
Official support at launch is restricted to GeForce RTX 50-series desktop and laptop GPUs. GeForce NOW Ultimate members will also be able to use it through Nvidia-operated cloud machines powered by RTX 5080 GPUs. Nvidia does not officially support DLSS 5 on RTX 40-series cards or older hardware.
A new rendering stage, not simply upscaling
Nvidia describes DLSS 5 as “3D-Guided Neural Rendering”. Unlike earlier DLSS features, which chiefly reconstructed images, generated extra frames or enhanced ray-traced lighting, the new system generates elements of the final displayed image.
According to Nvidia, this can include lighting, contact shadows, ambient occlusion, material responses, skin scattering, and the way light passes through hair and foliage. The model uses rendered game data, motion vectors, temporal information and developer controls to keep the result tied to the authored scene.
NBA 2K27 players will need the new GeForce Game Ready Driver released alongside DLSS 5. The option appears as “DLSS Neural Rendering” in Video Settings, and Nvidia says it can also be switched during play or replays with F9.
Nvidia’s performance claims need context
Nvidia says an RTX 5090 can reach up to 370fps in NBA 2K27 at 4K, using the Ultra preset, ray tracing and the full DLSS feature set. At 1440p, it claims up to 590fps on an RTX 5090, 410fps on an RTX 5080, 350fps on an RTX 5070 Ti and 260fps on an RTX 5070.
Those are company figures combining DLSS 5 with Super Resolution and Multi Frame Generation, rather than independent benchmarks. Nvidia says DLSS 5’s launch version can run at up to 4K on a single RTX 50-series GPU, after its March demonstration required two RTX 5090 cards.
What it means for current Nvidia owners
The important limitation is generational: an RTX 4070, RTX 4080 or RTX 4090 owner is excluded from official support at launch, regardless of the card’s wider performance. Unofficial experiments based on an early leaked NBA 2K27-related file do not change Nvidia’s stated hardware support.
NBA 2K27’s standard edition is listed at £59.99 in the UK. Players without an RTX 50-series GPU can instead use GeForce NOW Ultimate, provided they have access to the service and own or obtain the game. Nvidia has not confirmed a current UK Ultimate-tier price on the official page reviewed.
Nvidia says further DLSS 5 model updates are expected in autumn 2026, but has not confirmed their timing or performance impact.
Why it matters
This is a sharper divide between Nvidia GPU generations than earlier DLSS updates: even owners of an RTX 4090 cannot count on official DLSS 5 access. For UK players, the launch also offers limited immediate proof of the technology, as it starts in one £59.99 game. GeForce NOW Ultimate provides an alternative to buying new hardware, although a subscription and a copy of the game are still required.
Sources and evidence (10)
- nvidia.com (other)
- newsroom-uk.2k.com (other)
- research.nvidia.com (other)
- nvidia.com (other)
- tomshardware.com (other)
- tomshardware.com (other)
- nvidia.com (other)
- nvidia.com (other)
- nvidia.com (other)
- apnews.com (other)