Call of Duty: Warzone fans have been patiently waiting for NVIDIA’s powerful DLSS technology to arrive in the battle royale and it’s finally here. Arriving in the Season 3 update, here’s everything there is to know about DLSS and how it will up your game in Verdansk.
Warzone players on PC have been desperate to take advantage of NVIDIA’s DLSS technology — added to Black Ops Cold War back in 2020 — to help them gain an edge over their opponents in the battle royale.
Playing Warzone on a gaming rig with high FPS gives players an advantage over opponents who are using a setup that lacks the same graphical power. DLSS is now here to help your PC reach its maximum FPS potential in Warzone and make sure you’re frames ahead of the competition.
For players who feel their machine’s performance might be falling behind the competition, or those who just want to squeeze out some extra FPS for even more of an advantage, here’s everything we know about the added benefits of DLSS in Warzone.
What is NVIDIA DLSS?
According to NVIDIA’s explanation of the advanced functionality, DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) is “groundbreaking AI rendering technology that increases graphics performance using dedicated Tensor Core AI processors.”
The graphics card manufacturer also notes that “DLSS taps into the power of a deep learning neural network to boost frame rates and generate beautiful, sharp images for your games.” In other words, the technology improves framerates and delivers a better visual experience overall.
In some examples of the effect DLSS can have on your gaming experience, NVIDIA shows off impressive FPS boosts in games like Fortnite and Black Ops Cold War where players can enjoy framerates that are more than double the FPS without DLSS enabled.
Who can use DLSS in Warzone?
DLSS is a technology proprietary to NVIDIA, specifically their GeForce RTX GPUs. This means that if you play Warzone on a PC with an RTX graphics card (the company’s 2000 and 3000 series GPUs), you can take advantage of this performance-boosting tech.
Unfortunately, if your PC has an older NVIDIA graphics card (like a 1000 series GTX) or an AMD GPU, you are out of luck when it comes to DLSS — although players with an AMD card are able to use the company’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (a DLSS equivalent).
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Console players will also be unable to take advantage of DLSS, as both pieces of hardware use AMD GPUs. However, AMD is bringing their FidelityFX technology to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in addition to PC, so console players will be able to take advantage of that tech as well.
How does DLSS improve performance?
Anyone who loves competitive FPS titles knows that having a higher FPS than your opponents can literally decide the outcome of a gunfight. In Warzone, being able to see the enemy first, and more clearly, is a huge factor to winning each match — which is exactly where DLSS comes in.
The main benefit of DLSS is pushing your FPS much higher than your card can reach without the tech. Players with the appropriate hardware are now able to switch on NVIDIA DLSS for a big “performance boost,” the Season 3 patch notes confirmed. The main benefits outlined include “higher resolutions and graphics settings.”
Whether you’re playing at 1080p, 1440p, or even maxed out at 4k, DLSS can provide huge boosts in your FPS. It doesn’t matter if you prefer lower quality settings to max out your frames or improved visuals at a steady 60 FPS — DLSS will ramp your performance up.
DLSS finally arrived in Warzone Season 3
After months of speculation, DLSS finally landed with the Warzone Season 3 update. NVIDIA had previously confirmed this information, pointing towards April 22 as the target release date.
In January 2021, NVIDIA confirmed DLSS would be added to Warzone in a future update. In that announcement, Eric Lavoie, Executive Producer at Beenox (one of Activision’s support studios working on Call of Duty) shared his excitement for the technology’s impact on the BR.
“We were excited to bring NVIDIA DLSS to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War [in 2020]. It was a great addition for our players to increase their game performance on PC and we look forward to bringing this to Warzone [as well],” he shared with fans.
