Nvidia GDC 2026 roundup: More path-traced games, DLSS 4.5 debut titles, and RTX mega foliage

[Daniel Sims]

In brief: Nvidia is using this year's Game Developers Conference to outline the full launch of DLSS 4.5, add five upcoming games to its list of titles supporting path tracing, and offer an early glimpse at RTX Mega Geometry foliage. The company also provided an update on RTX Remix, highlighting this week's launch of a path-traced version of Quake III Arena.

Users with high-refresh-rate monitors can participate in an opt-in beta for DLSS 6x multi-frame generation and dynamic mode starting March 31. The date lands slightly ahead of Nvidia's previously stated April launch, which may be when the two features exit beta.

The frame-gen update is a flagship feature of DLSS 4.5, which also enhances image quality compared to DLSS 4 when upscaling from half resolution or lower. At GDC, Nvidia revealed that 20 games will soon support DLSS 4.5 natively, including 007: First Light, Control Resonant, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, War Thunder, and more.

Moreover, the company confirmed path tracing support for 007 (launching May 27), Control Resonant, Tides of Annihilation, Directive 8020 (May 12), and Sea of Remnants. Capcom's Resident Evil Requiem is the latest title to launch with path tracing, and the company will also showcase the feature in Pragmata, which launches April 17.

Nvidia also continues to use RTX Remix to bring path tracing to retro PC games. The latest example is Quake III Arena, which the company used to debut the modding suite's newest feature, Advanced Particle VFX. It allows modders to replace particle effects in older titles with path-traced particles that respond dynamically to physics.

Modder WoodBoy applied RTX particles to Quake III's lightning gun. He also overhauled the visuals for 15 maps, 3,000 materials, and various textures. The free mod is available now at ModDB.

Other RTX Remix projects can begin using Advanced Particle VFX starting next month. Meanwhile, another modder, "softsoundd," recently unveiled early work on an RTX Remix version of Mirror's Edge.

Nvidia also aims to improve ray tracing and path tracing performance through upgrades to mega geometry. The feature conserved memory and enhanced performance in Alan Wake 2 by optimizing how ray tracing and path tracing interact with geometry. Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy is set to iterate on mega geometry in Control Resonant, which launches later this year.

Looking ahead, Nvidia announced a new implementation of mega geometry that focuses on scenes with heavy foliage, such as forests, which remain a challenge for ray tracing.

The company demonstrated how the technology enables path tracing in dense forests at high frame rates, building on last year's Unreal Engine Witcher IV tech demo. Nvidia will open-source the update later this year, and CD Projekt Red is set to implement it in The Witcher IV, which is expected to launch sometime after 2026.

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Nvidia GDC 2026 roundup: More path-traced games, DLSS 4.5 debut titles, and RTX mega foliage

 

[Vaneheart]

This is dust in the wind when no one can afford to purchase an Nvidia graphics card suitable for decent gaming.

 

[AnilD]

A modder individually overhauled 15 maps and 3,000 materials in Quake III Arena for free, while EA just laid off hundreds of people after a record-breaking launch. Just let that sit for a second.

 

[NumberNine]

More detailed foliage can be bad news for some online shooters when you get domed by someone on low graphics settings because you are surrounded by such lush plant life.

Great for SP and Co-op though. RPG stuff.

 

[Aus spot]

What do we want: Faster, cheaper cards with more ram.

What do we get: software that pretends to be faster if you can afford a new video card.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

That all sounds pretty cool.

(Except for 6X frame gen which is just plain silly)

 

[ScottSoapbox]

This is dust in the wind when no one can afford to purchase an Nvidia graphics card suitable for decent gaming.

Why didn’t you buy one a few months ago?

There were many articles and videos warning that prices were going to spike.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Why didn’t you buy one a few months ago?

There were many articles and videos warning that prices were going to spike.

Not everyone is in a position to dump hundreds on a luxury product on a whim. Even if they are buying a GPU may not be high on the priority list.

 

[Burty117]

The Witcher demo from last year was impressive, cool to see the tech getting open-sourced, and by Nvidia of all companies.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

Read similar nVidia PR articles on several sites.
No one said the not so nice details:
- on which cards will this 6x MFG work?
- on which cards will work Adaptive FG:

I can guess answer to the 1st one ... rtx 50xx.
I can guess that rtx 20xx and 30xx wont provide any FG/MFG/AFG.
But what about Adaptive FG on rtx 40xx?

 

[Puiu]

The new "Advanced Path Tracing" demo looks jank AF. I can issues everywhere, but the worst is the Witcher 4 forest scene which is completely unusable in a game. This is far from being ready for release.

 

[Thatsdisgusting]

Why didn’t you buy one a few months ago?

There were many articles and videos warning that prices were going to spike.

70 Ti for 1K$ was totally not OK WAY before any price spikes

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Read similar nVidia PR articles on several sites.
No one said the not so nice details:
- on which cards will this 6x MFG work?
- on which cards will work Adaptive FG:

I can guess answer to the 1st one ... rtx 50xx.
I can guess that rtx 20xx and 30xx wont provide any FG/MFG/AFG.
But what about Adaptive FG on rtx 40xx?

Only 5000 and up get MFG, as previous generations do not have the hardware to support MFG.
2 and 3000 do not have the hardware for DLSS FG, so they do not get FG.

Both of these are already known quantities. No reason to guess.

Adaptive frame gen is already answered too with context clues: 5000 only. Why? Because the whole point of adaptive frame gen is to adjust the FG multiplier from 2-6x on the fly. Well, if the 4000 series only supports FG x2, then what use would adaptive FG be? To adjust from 2x to 2x on the fly?

 

[mountains]

Hey all, what is the best Nvidia driver version for a upper 4000 series card to handle games? I am way due to update, but keep hearing that recent drivers are unstable.

Wish they would develop to the users rather than the stockholders.

 

[jbc029]

If what you're playing/using the card for is working well right now, you shouldn't install new drivers. In the past, it wasn't such a big deal as issues for NV were pretty rare. Not so much these days.

Basically, if the new game isn't working or has issues, *then* update the driver. But if you load up and things are fine, there is no need to change a thing.

Most "game ready" drivers add maybe 5-8% performance at best or address graphical issues that you may not encounter, based on the settings you choose. If you don't need it, don't change it.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

Only 5000 and up get MFG, as previous generations do not have the hardware to support MFG.

FG, as it was introduced with rtx 40xx, used specialized HW.
MFG uses Tensor cores. Even rtx 20xx have them.

Adaptive frame gen is already answered too with context clues: 5000 only. Why? Because the whole point of adaptive frame gen is to adjust the FG multiplier from 2-6x on the fly.

I read this nVidia PR on more than on site. And some says ... adaptive 1x~6x

Well, if the 4000 series only supports FG x2, then what use would adaptive FG be? To adjust from 2x to 2x on the fly?

So rtx 40xx could do 1x and switch do 2x when 1x does not provide enough fps.
Nice dream.

TL;DR - answer for players is: Go to nearest shop and buy a new card.
The more you buy, the more you save.

 

[Eldrach]

This is dust in the wind when no one can afford to purchase an Nvidia graphics card suitable for decent gaming.

Don't worry..you can RENT it with GeforceNow - welcome to the new end game

 

[Theinsanegamer]

FG, as it was introduced with rtx 40xx, used specialized HW.
MFG uses Tensor cores. Even rtx 20xx have them.

The tensor cores on RTX 2000 are NOT the same as tensor cores on RTX 5000, or 4000, or even 3000.

While your nvidia derangement syndrome might lead you to believe that nvidia hasnt given you a new GPU in a decade, that is incorrect.

I read this nVidia PR on more than on site. And some says ... adaptive 1x~6x

And some says? Grammar my man, grammar.

Just because you dont like something doesnt make it "pr". Where are these sources claiming 1x support for adaptive MFG?

So rtx 40xx could do 1x and switch do 2x when 1x does not provide enough fps.
Nice dream.

TL;DR - answer for players is: Go to nearest shop and buy a new card.
The more you buy, the more you save.

Why would they do that? These are not AMD cards, they're going to get gaming optimizations and new features for years to come.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

The tensor cores on RTX 2000 are NOT the same as tensor cores on RTX 5000, or 4000, or even 3000.

rtx 50xx can use FP4. The older not.
Yet the 4090 (and 4080 too) has enough tensor cores to do the trick. But its nVidia. Buy new card. And its good.
When AMD did not released FSR4 for card who do not have dedicated tensor cores at all ... shitstorm was enormous.

While your nvidia derangement syndrome might lead you to believe that nvidia hasnt given you a new GPU in a decade, that is incorrect.

May be some reviewers were given a new GPU.
The rest had to pay for them.

And some says? Grammar my man, grammar.

When people run out of facts ... grammar comes into play.

Just because you dont like something doesnt make it "pr".

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

These are not AMD cards, they're going to get gaming optimizations and new features for years to come.

Except they lack some bit of technology which may or may not be essential but its lacking can be and will be used as excuse.
Or even if they have it ... but somebody decides to not support it any more.

 

[Aus spot]

Only 5000 and up get MFG, as previous generations do not have the hardware to support MFG.
2 and 3000 do not have the hardware for DLSS FG, so they do not get FG.

Both of these are already known quantities. No reason to guess.

Adaptive frame gen is already answered too with context clues: 5000 only. Why? Because the whole point of adaptive frame gen is to adjust the FG multiplier from 2-6x on the fly. Well, if the 4000 series only supports FG x2, then what use would adaptive FG be? To adjust from 2x to 2x on the fly?

That reply is really framed to make people who are not full of information on the subject feel inferior.

I don’t follow the tech inside a video card, that’s why I come to a tech news site to inform me. When new drivers/software come out, I expect to be told the basics of what cards will benefit.

 

[Melkor Unlimited]

I don’t follow the tech inside a video card, that’s why I come to a tech news site to inform me. When new drivers/software come out, I expect to be told the basics of what cards will benefit.

That is the difference between (not taged) PR and professional technical article.

PR says (in big letters) ... bright new times are coming.
And somewhere under the line with fineprint .. if you buy our new whatever
professional technical article would says thing like
- rtx 50xx series will give you all of this
- rtx 40xx series will give you this, this, and this but that and that
- rtx 30xx series will give a bare minimum with performance impact
- rtx 20xx series will give you a good feeling to be a part of the best GPU owners group

 

[ScottSoapbox]

70 Ti for 1K$ was totally not OK WAY before any price spikes

I bought a 5080 for $929 when you could buy 5070 TIs for $700ish. Aug-Oct was MSRP or less time. Nov was just slightly higher. 4 months to buy just a short while ago.

 

[ScottSoapbox]

Not everyone is in a position to dump hundreds on a luxury product on a whim. Even if they are buying a GPU may not be high on the priority list.

If it's not a priority they shouldn't care that it cost more. I don't cry about things I don't want to buy being expensive.

 

[Thatsdisgusting]

I bought a 5080 for $929 when you could buy 5070 TIs for $700ish. Aug-Oct was MSRP or less time. Nov was just slightly higher. 4 months to buy just a short while ago.

Not everybody is a ‘murican living in VATless state. Where I live, 5070Ti prime was 1000$ total BEFORE the craze. One of the cheapest AIB cards, except for occasionally discounted windforces and gaming pro. Now the cheapest 70Ti is 1200$. And these prices are from the most dubious resellers.





Same goes to 5080 - no, even worse - it never dip below 1200$ for **** palit, 1400 for prime, 1600$ for any top-notch version. Now all 5080 start from 1450-1550$

 

[bloomsun]

Directive 8020. Visually simply mega. It has its few performance problems and hitches here and there, but I tolerate that. It is very demanding, though. 4080 with Frame Generation 40–60 fps with drops below 20 fps, but those are hitches in the game that they still need to fix, because those are not normal.