AMD is reportedly developing its own DLSS 5-like neural rendering technology for the company’s next-gen RDNA 5 GPUs. According to renowned leaker Kepler_L2, the brand is working on a so-called Neural Lighting tech that should enhance game graphics for Radeon users using AI.
“AMD will have their own version of “Neural Lighting” like DLSS5 next-gen,” said the leaker in a post on the Anandtech forums. While little is known about this new Radeon feature, Kepler_L2 indicated that, like Nvidia DLSS 5, AMD’s Neural Lighting is “pretty heavy” when it comes to processing power, meaning it may be locked to the company’s upcoming RDNA 5 GPUs.
Besides that, AMD’s new architecture may contain more in the way of dedicated AI hardware, as well as architectural changes optimised for deep learning. This could boost Neural Lighting performance on RDNA 5, while older-generation GPUs may simply be unfit for the task.
The leaker also speculated about potential venues of optimisation in comparison to Nvidia’s approach. In another post further down the thread, Kepler_L2 states that “it’s possible to have a version of this with minimal hallucinations and ‘AI slop’ look.”
Having a model that only reworks lighting and another dedicated to shading complex surfaces, all while getting rid of the colour-grading step, could potentially produce more accurate results, says the leaker. Better yet, by optimising the rendering pipeline and removing steps deemed less impactful on the final image, performance may even improve.
Whether we like neural rendering or not, AMD is once more a step behind Nvidia when it comes to launching new technologies. The red team can’t afford to lose more share to Nvidia, as the latter is already holding 90% of the market according to Jon Peddie Research. This means that RDNA 5 needs feature parity with Nvidia at launch if it’s going to be properly competitive, all while delivering a meaningful performance upgrade over RDNA 4.
That said, the question many are probably asking is whether AMD will bring this rumoured Neural Lighting to previous-generation GPUs, especially given how long it’s taken the company to get FSR 4 working on RDNA 3 GPUs. Considering that Nvidia has officially announced expanding DLSS 5 to the RTX 40 Series, AMD is somewhat obligated to do the same with its technology to avoid backlash.
Even if there is a plausible technical reason to keep it exclusive to RDNA 5, AMD should still look at alternative solutions to make it work on old Radeon cards.
Either way, we are still far from seeing any RDNA 5 GPUs, as AMD hasn’t even officially named it yet. Currently, rumours speak of a potential launch in late 2027 or early 2028, which should give AMD ample time.
