Microsoft DirectSR aims to unify competing upscaling technologies under a single DX12 graphics library

Alfonso Maruccia

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Something to look forward to: Nvidia introduced its deep learning super sampling technology a few years ago, and other GPU makers soon followed with their own solutions for graphics upscaling. Now, Microsoft is planning to bring the three main competing upscaling algorithms under the same DirectX 12 roof.

Nvidia, AMD, and Intel will soon have access to a unified API to bring the benefits of graphics upscaling to the entire PC gaming community. Microsoft recently announced the preview release of DirectSR, a new API specifically designed to standardize "super resolution" (SR) and upscaling support in games developed to run under Direct3D 12.

Microsoft stated that graphics upscaling can "elevate" the gaming experience by significantly increasing frame rates while preserving visual quality. Nvidia developed its AI-based DLSS technology first, followed by AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and Intel's XeSS. Microsoft noted that the number of competing upscaling solutions keeps growing, and game developers are asking for a common API to scale SR across the entire PC gaming hardware ecosystem.

Microsoft partnered with AMD, Intel, and Nvidia to develop DirectSR, meaning the new API was primarily designed to integrate DLSS, FSR, and XeSS into standardized SR technologies for DX12 games. DirectSR will expose a "common set of inputs and outputs," providing a single code path for upscaling support.

Thanks to DirectSR, SR integration should become a straightforward and scalable exercise for gaming companies. Developers can implement SR support once, making the technology work on all DX12-enabled Windows devices. DirectSR support requires new compatible GPU drivers, Microsoft explains, which is the best way to tune and exploit PC gaming hardware capabilities.

There is also built-in support for generic, GPU-agnostic SR variants that can be used at the application level, making graphics upscaling accessible across diverse hardware products and configurations. With DirectSR, users will be able to choose between the available upscaler solutions supported by their GPU hardware to achieve the best in-game results.

DirectSR is a standalone solution, meaning game developers will no longer need to ship vendor-specific SDKs or DLL libraries. DLL swapping has been a popular method to achieve the best upscaling results in newer titles, particularly for owners of DLSS-compatible Nvidia GPUs. The DirectSR API preview specs are now available on GitHub, and Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have released updated GPU drivers to support the new library.

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Microsoft can't even unify their customer under a single OS version because of all of the telemetry stuff, forced updates and AI nonsense they're cramming into Windows 11 I don't think they'll have much success with this unless they give up and give this feature to Windows 10 which I am 99% certain they will not.
 
Microsoft can't even unify their customer under a single OS version because of all of the telemetry stuff, forced updates and AI nonsense they're cramming into Windows 11 I don't think they'll have much success with this unless they give up and give this feature to Windows 10 which I am 99% certain they will not.
This is a feature of DirectX, not Windows. It just means instead of implementing several different upscalers, developers just need to implement DirectDSR. On the backend DirectX will choose the best upscaler for your hardware then forward the calls to that API. This is implemented in DirectX 12, which has been supported on Windows since Windows 8.

My biggest concern is how this will affected VKD3D, which is used by Linux. The API is open, so that part shouldn't be too hard, but bundling the libraries for DLSS might be an issue.
 
Tim will not be happy about the fact that FSR 2.2 will be the default implementation. So much for promoting DLSS just to get MS using FSR.
 
My biggest concern is how this will affected VKD3D, which is used by Linux. The API is open, so that part shouldn't be too hard, but bundling the libraries for DLSS might be an issue.
There is speak that the whispers of MS buying Valve is to halt Linux gaming. Valve is dumping millions into Linux gaming development. Frankly, Valve is spending more on Linus gaming than Intel is spending on GPU driver development.
 
This is a feature of DirectX, not Windows. It just means instead of implementing several different upscalers, developers just need to implement DirectDSR. On the backend DirectX will choose the best upscaler for your hardware then forward the calls to that API. This is implemented in DirectX 12, which has been supported on Windows since Windows 8.

My biggest concern is how this will affected VKD3D, which is used by Linux. The API is open, so that part shouldn't be too hard, but bundling the libraries for DLSS might be an issue.
Do you remember DirectX10 not being for WinXP, or DirectX 12 not being for Win 7? and if I remember correctly, some things in DX12 are exclusive to Win10 and up
 
Microsoft can't even unify their customer under a single OS version because of all of the telemetry stuff, forced updates and AI nonsense they're cramming into Windows 11 I don't think they'll have much success with this unless they give up and give this feature to Windows 10 which I am 99% certain they will not.
Good luck with that.
Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025 😂
 
I honestly don't see any value add other than another "fluffy" software layer. Is it that difficult for a PC gamer to figure out whether he/she wants upscaling on/ off, and which upscaler to use?
 
Do you remember DirectX10 not being for WinXP, or DirectX 12 not being for Win 7? and if I remember correctly, some things in DX12 are exclusive to Win10 and up

Also exclusive to win10 and up - security patches!! So what’s the relevance of moaning that some bits of dx12 don’t work on windows x8.1
 
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