Starfield Adds Nvidia DLSS Support In Steam Beta Update Next Week

AMD FSR3 also coming in a "future update"

by Liam Doolan Thu 2nd Nov 2023

Starfield got off to an incredibly strong start when it landed in September - breaking all sorts of records, but this hasn't stopped the team from working around the clock to improve the game on all fronts.

The next update is exclusively for the PC version of the game. It will feature Nvidia DLSS support with frame generation, display and HDR controls for supported systems, along with some other "optimizations and improvements". Here's the full rundown from Bethesda:

"We've been hard at work on @StarfieldGame updates and will be putting our next one into Steam Beta next week. This update will feature Nvidia DLSS support with frame generation, display and HDR controls for supported systems, and other optimizations and improvements. You'll be able to opt-in to try it via the Steam Beta options. We’d love your feedback before it goes live for all PC and Xbox players after that."

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Starfield launched with FSR2 support but will apparently be getting AMD FSR3 support in a future update as well. The update featuring Nvidia DLSS support will go live in Steam Beta next week, with Bethesda to share "specifics soon".

Is this a feature you've been waiting for Starfield to add? Tell us in the comments.

[source twitter.com]

Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. He's also got a soft spot for Sonic the Hedgehog.

1
TakeItEasy
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

Finally? Why this wasn't at day 1?

2
BacklogBrad
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@TakeItEasy because it's not worth delaying the launch for.

3
Dan1283
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

I'm so glad I've finished this crash and bug fest of a game so frustrating it's beyond belief until its completely patched I dont want go anywhere near it maybe in a year or 2 times I might start again

4
InterceptorAlpha
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@Dan1283 What platform are you on? My girlfriend and I each have our own Series X. Both with about 180 hours in. I've had a single crash. She's had two. And aside from the occasional odd ball, such as Sarah sitting in a table, no more than I'd get from any other game, we've both been bug free.

I recently just went through Arkham Knight and experienced way more issues for example. About 1 hard crash every 2 hours or so, with multiple achievement failing to unlock.

5
Dan1283
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@InterceptorAlpha I finished starfield now I played it on series s I enjoyed the game mainly but the amount of crashes I had was terrible I don't think I ever want go back to the game again to be honest there's plenty of gest games out though especially this year

6
themightyant
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@BacklogBrad @TakeItEasy got nothing to do with ‘delaying the launch’ it was because Bethesda did a deal with AMD so the game had FSR at launch but not DLSS which lost them a lot of goodwill from PC players. It took one modder less than 24 hours to add DLSS.

7
InterceptorAlpha
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@Dan1283 Seems to check out. After asking, seems like the majority of people with issues did indeed play on Series S. That or underpowered PCs.

Makes me wonder if playing via streaming is a better experience than the Series S natively.

8
JokerBoy422
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

Jesus... A PC exclusive beta trial for the ability to adjust HDR? Smh...

9
Dan1283
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@InterceptorAlpha not sure but I know pc is definitely the best place play the game

10
themightyant
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@InterceptorAlpha I was on Series X and had well over 50 crashes. It's pretty widely reported, but I couldn't find a fix. I did not have many crashes in the first 30 hours or so but as the game went on, it got worse and worse and worse. By hour 150+ it was crashing more than once an hour, usually while making an auto-save.

@Dan1283 Someone here suggested deleting all your saves except ONE new one, deleting your Xbox cache* and that fixed it for them, but I was done with the game by the time I saw this and didn't try it. It's also listed as a possible fix on Bethesda's website (* Press and hold XBox button on console for 10+ seconds to completely turn it off, unplug and wait for 10+ seconds, plug back in and reboot)

It reminded my of Skyrim which had a similar bug: as the save file size got bigger, performance and load times got worse. ESPECIALLY on the infamous PS3 version, but the X360 and PC had it too for some.

What's baffling is it doesn't seem to happen to everyone. Someone posited it may happen to players who move/take/store a LOT of items as Creation Engine tracks them all.

11
Darylb88
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

I'm ready for the next console update. I have been playing here and there and gotten to about 65 hours In. I'm on Series X and luckily only had one crash within the first 15 hours. I was advised early on to delete all but the first few saves and this really does help. I also fully power down my xbox every as it still saves my quick resume and save me on my electricity bill. I've had a couple of random visual glitches but far less issues than the 14 hours I had with Spider-man 2.

12
Markatron84
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@themightyant

I was on Series X and had well over 50 crashes. It's pretty widely reported, but I couldn't find a fix. I did not have many crashes in the first 30 hours or so but as the game went on, it got worse and worse and worse. By hour 150+ it was crashing more than once an hour, usually while making an auto-save.

Sorry, but are you even human? 🤣 I wouldn't/couldn't put up with that for 5 hours, let alone 150+ hours, no matter how good the game underneath all the bugs and crashes supposedly was.

13
themightyant
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@Markatron84 No i'm an AI. Finally busted, after all these years!!!

For all it's flaws Starfield is a compelling game in places, else I wouldn't have played it for over 200 hours. But by the time the crashes started becoming frequent I was pretty invested, had it happened at the start I might have waited for a fix. But it certainly negatively impacted my final thoughts on the game.

EDIT: Also bear in mind with the SSD, auto-save etc. you are back into your game in around a minute or so and as it usually crashed after an auto-save you didn't lose any progress, you picked up right where you left off. Frankly the long loading times in Skyrim last gen took up significantly more time overall. Still not a good state of affairs but it gives it some context.

14
BacklogBrad
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@themightyant in an interview with the verge before launch, AMD stated that there has been nothing preventing them from adding dlss to the game.

FSR was prioritized and AMD was declared the "official partner" because of the marketing deal. They could have included dlss support at launch if it was ready. Since they are doing the testing and feedback thru public beta tests, it is clearly not ready.

15
themightyant
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@BacklogBrad I saw AMD said that. But it's HIGHLY suspicious that their marketing partner's solution FSR was integrated at launch but the industry leading solution DLSS wasn't. The fact they are only just going through public beta tests now shows it wasn't a priority for them. I wonder why...

16
BacklogBrad
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@themightyant I imagine AMD provided support as part of the deal and was able to help with the tech.

17
Batty5
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

I've been playing on the Series S, had only a few crashes, maybe two or three. Some bugs here or there. I am excited about the FSR 3. Is it going to support that on the consoles as well? I wonder if it would put a 60 FPS mode on the table, for the Series X at least. I'm totally happy with performance on the Series S at 30 FPS, but the possibilities are exciting.

18
themightyant
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@BacklogBrad Perhaps they did but most other AAA PC releases manages to get DLSS out on time alongside FSR and even XeSS sometimes regardless, why not this one? Lack of budget perhaps /s

As I said a solo modder got DLSS working within 24 hours of "early access" launch. Had they ANY will to get it working on time it would have been done weeks ago, not over 2 months after release. But money talks.

19
AverageGamer
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@JokerBoy422 Given how bad HDR has been on PC… PC HDR don’t get benefit from HGiG like consoles do. So I’m glad they’re testing it and taking player feedback instead before pushing it out.

20
BacklogBrad
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@themightyant getting it working through an amateur mod and having stable, official support that doesnt affect anything else are two different things.

21
JokerBoy422
Thu 2nd Nov 2023

@AverageGamer oh I completely understand that. My complaint is that this is something that should have been ready at launch. The main menu screen is in full HDR at a high nit scale. Once you start the game though it auto locks the HDR to never go above 400 nits not to mention the colors are horrible and drab because of it. Most devs haven't really had this issue even when their HDR is also broken.

22
themightyant
Fri 3rd Nov 2023

@BacklogBrad Yes, I agree they are. But not 2+ months different with a whole team at your back v one guy.

Besides the DLSS mod was stable. The guy may technically be an amateur but has been putting out quality mods for years, including DLSS ones on other paid for AMD games. In this field he has expertise.

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