Following the release of Adrenalin Edition 25.10.2, AMD caused quite a stir by seemingly skipping game optimisations for Radeon RX 6000 and 5000 graphics cards. In the wake of an understandable backlash, the brand has since shared multiple statements clarifying the future of those GPU families with a positive resolution.
On November 2, four days after the release of the latest driver suite, AMD published a new post that addresses continued Radeon RX 6000 and 5000 GPU support. In the blog, the brand categorically states these cards will continue to receive game optimisations and support, as well as security and bug fixes.
This promise contradicts the release notes for Adrenalin Edition 25.10.2, which still suggest that new game support will remain exclusive to Radeon RX 7000 and 9000 GPUs. It’s oversights like this that led to the confusion AMD is keen to address.
So, if Radeon RX 6000 and 5000 cards will continue to receive support, why are there now two driver branches? AMD claims this system insulates the GPU families from “rapid changes designed for newer architectures”, allowing engineers to “move faster with new features for RDNA 3 & 4.”
There is merit to this approach, as neither RX 6000 nor 5000 Series GPUs, sport AI accelerators, so this move perhaps indicates AMD’s intent to provide official FSR 4 support beyond RX 9000 Series cards. That’s not forgetting FSR Redstone features too.
While AMD remains committed to providing the same level of support to these older architectures, the company has complicated communications regarding cadence. Speaking with Tom’s Hardware, prior to its blog post, the company told the outlet that it will deliver new drivers “as required by market needs in the maintenance mode branch.”
If you’re currently running a Radeon RX 6000 or 5000 card, there’s no need to seek out an immediate upgrade for the moment. However, now might be the time to at least consider one if you’d rather not wait and see how AMD’s support shapes up, whether you fancy the likes of a Radeon RX 9070 or GeForce RTX 5070.
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