Players have been highly vocal about Nvidia DLSS 5 since its initial announcement in March, which Jensen Huang describes as “the GPT moment for graphics.” However, a notable figure in the gaming industry has stepped into the debate, siding with DLSS 5’s capabilities. The creative director of Kingdom Come: Deliverance has defended DLSS 5, emphasizing its impact on gaming visuals.
He shared a comparison on social media that showcased a character model rendered with the game’s original lighting versus one with DLSS 5 enabled. He explained that the game’s limited lighting system couldn’t accurately portray lighting, textures, and shadows as originally intended, but DLSS 5 significantly enhances all three elements.
He stated, “On the right is the same model without any geometry changes, looking just like a render from ZBrush—where a 3D artist modeled it—only with better lighting, shadows, skin textures, hair, and more details, thanks to neural network rendering in DLSS 5.”
A screenshot accompanied the post, illustrating the improvements brought by DLSS 5. The developer also didn’t shy away from addressing critics who dismiss DLSS 5 as “AI slop,” retorting, “Some random internet guy says: THIS IS AI SLOP! I want the original artistic vision!”
He claimed that DLSS 5 restores the original artistic intent of Warhorse Studios for Kingdom Come: Deliverance, comparing it to static ZBrush renders of the models created during development. He emphasized that artifacts like helmet shadows on faces or flawed normal map rendering were never part of the studio’s vision, calling out the exaggerated criticism as “crazy.”
In another post, he expressed frustration over the lack of shadows from hats, hoods, and helmets in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, noting how disappointing it was that small details like buckles and laces couldn’t cast shadows, which he considered a setback.
Despite praising DLSS 5 for its impressive visual improvements, he acknowledged some frame-rate issues but remained optimistic about its future potential. He concluded by saying, “This technology has enormous promise, and it’s fantastic that even older games’ lighting can be enhanced this way.”
During Nvidia’s DLSS 5 showcase at SIGGRAPH 2026, there was considerable backlash from players, with many feeling that the technology resembles an “AI filter.” These recent social media insights shed light on why the creative director believes people are overreacting to DLSS 5.
Though he left Warhorse Studios earlier this year, the upcoming Kingdom Come installment and a Lord of the Rings RPG could continue to leverage AI technology to reduce development costs. Reports indicate that the studio replaced a Czech-English translator with AI earlier this year, suggesting Warhorse is open to integrating generative AI tools.