It's been just over a month since Kyle Bennett's HardOCP investigation exposed elements of anticompetitiveness in Nvidia's GeForce Partner Program (GPP). Now, AMD has indirectly blasted its rival in a new blog post, which emphasizes the importance of PC gamers having the "freedom to choose."

"Our proud pastime of PC gaming has been built on the idea of freedom. Freedom to choose. How to play the game. What to do and when to do it. And specifically, what to play it on," AMD said. "PC gaming has a long, proud tradition of choice. Whether you build and upgrade your own PCs, or order prebuilt rigs after you've customized every detail online, you know that what you're playing on is of your own making, based on your freedom to choose the components that you want. Freedom of choice is a staple of PC gaming."

Bennett's report suggests that some companies are worried Nvidia will punish them by not allocating GPU inventories if they decline to become part of the GPP. Those who don't sign up also miss out on benefits such as launch partner status, high-effort engineering engagements, marketing development funds, social media and PR support, game bundling, and more. But most damningly, the report also suggests that those who want to be part of the program are encouraged not to sell AMD products. Dell and HP have both reportedly refused to become members because of Nvidia's alleged requirements, and it seems the FTC and EU Commission are now looking into the complaints.

While there is no direct mention of Nvidia or its GPP in AMD's post, it's obvious who the message is aimed toward. The company says that "the key values that bands sporting AMD products will offer are":

  • A dedication to open innovation
  • A commitment to true transparency through industry standards
  • Real partnerships with real consistency
  • Expanding the PC gaming ecosystem

Earlier this week, Asus announced it had rebranded its Republic of Gamers (ROG) lineup of AMD Radeon-powered GPUs to AREZ, thereby allowing the ROG line to join become Nvidia-exclusive and join the GPP. It seems that other AIB partners are going to go down this same avenue.

"Today, Asus announced its Arez-branded AMD Radeon RX graphics cards and over the coming weeks, you can expect to see more add-in board partners launch new brands carrying the AMD Radeon name," AMD said.