Today, Nvidia announced an official release date for DLSS 5. The latest version – featuring neural rendering technology – will be widely available on September 3rd at 9 PM Pacific Time (this translates to midnight Eastern Time, or 4 AM UTC on September 4). Nvidia says the technology will first be available in NBA 2K27, with other supported titles to follow.

DLSS 5 is exclusive to RTX 50 series GPUs and 50-series laptops, and it will also be available through GeForce Now; Nvidia’s Ultimate subscription tier unlocks access to RTX 5080-class servers for cloud gaming. It’s worth noting that NBA 2K27 doesn’t officially release until September 4, but those who purchased the Deluxe or Ultra edition have had access since August 26.

DLSS 5 launches on September 3, but people have been using it already

According to a press release, Nvidia says DLSS 5 launches exclusively in NBA 2K27 thanks to “a close partnership with developer Visual Concepts and publisher 2K,” which brings “DLSS 5 3D-Guided Neural Rendering to NBA 2K27, achieving a new level of authentic sports experience for its players”. The popular sports title was not included in Nvidia’s original reveal.

You can read more about the AI tech and its implementation in NBA 2K27 in Nvidia’s official blog post here. Either way, PC gamers have already had their hands on the technology due to leaked .dll files in NBA 2K27’s early access launch. Gamers were quick to criticize DLSS 5 when it was first revealed, with more than half not convinced, according to a PC Guide poll.

However, now it seems more gamers are warming to the idea in its more finalized version. Some players are particularly impressed with the implementation in 2K27, calling it “Quite impressive” and “the game that currently benefits the most” from the leaked DLSS 5 build that modders shared. Its capability to enhance the realism of famous faces makes a lot of sense given its AI-powered nature.

DLSS 5 arrives not long after Nvidia released DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction, just a week ago. We had a chance to test it early in a couple of games, namely Cyberpunk 2077 and Resident Evil Requiem, delivering exceptional ray-traced and path-traced visuals with no, or at worst, negligible performance losses. With DLSS 5 mods out there, people are already having fun with the technology, but you don’t have to wait long if you’d rather wait for official support.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.