AMD recently revealed that they are partnering up with Bethesda for upcoming space exploration RPG Starfield. AMD will be the exclusive PC partner for this game, using the cutting-edge power afforded by their Radeon 7000 series graphics cards and Ryzen 7000 series processors.
According to AMD’s pitch, it seems like Starfield will be especially optimized to fully leverage the multi-threaded AMD hardware, on both PC and Xbox Series X|S.
While Xbox Series X|S consoles both feature CPU and GPU from AMD, this news has created waves amongst PC gamers using Nvidia graphics cards. Many gamers are condemning this deal, stating that this is unethical and a ploy for increasing AMD’s GPU sales.
AMD is Starfield's exclusive PC partner. AMD has worked with Bethesda to optimize Ryzen / Radeon 7000 series CPUs + GPUs for Starfield. Bethesda has "AMD engineers in our codebase" working on FSR 2 upscaling support for both Xbox and PC https://t.co/mGXmpftIcO
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 27, 2023
If you really care about gamers, stop limiting partners from using Nvidia technology @AMD @AMDGaming
— HasoonyOfRivia (@HasoonyOf) June 27, 2023
It's impressive how AMD manages to be more anti-comsumer than Nvidia. How are you WORSE than Nvidia???
— Vincent Adultman (@TatataToddC) June 27, 2023
Many netizens are confused about the omission of DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling). For the uninitiated, DLSS is an image upscaling method developed by Nvidia, which can provide significant performance boost on titles with support for the technology. This AMD-Bethesda Starfield deal means players with Nvidia GPUs will have to make do without any upscaling tech.
While Starfield is locked to 30 FPS on Xbox consoles, many PC gamers were hoping to achieve 60 FPS using their PCs. Part of that was thought to be possible using DLSS for players with more entry-level or budget graphics cards.
DLSS is massively superior to FSR 2, so I don't understand why Microsoft / Bethesda would sign a deal that will lock DLSS out of Starfield. These deals are simply anti consumer and won't help AMD sell GPUs. Build a better product instead 😐
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 27, 2023
very disappointing honestly. nothing wrong with the partnering part – its the implication that nvidia and DLSS 3 are going to be left out in the cold that makes starfield 'instantly' less appealing as a video game
— Zach Stern (@SternOne) June 27, 2023
Some are even claiming that they will pass on purchasing Starfield until the DLSS support for is added. Currently, as it stands, Starfield will feature only AMD’s proprietary super sampling tech, FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) support. This comes as a surprise, as the gaming community usually considers the upscaling performance provided by NVIDIA’s DLSS technology to be much more superior than AMD’s current standard FSR2.
Will pass until DLSS is added!
— Hayyan (@7ayyoo) June 27, 2023
But not all hope is lost for Starfield fans with Nvidia graphics cards. Previous Bethesda games, such as Skyrim and Fallout 4, have had mods adding DLSS support to them.
Congrats AMD on the sneaky deal with Bethesda. But those of you wielding Nvidia GPUs need not worry too much. We have had DLSS mods for both Skyrim SE and Fallout 4. I bet my ass it'd be made for Starfield in less than 6 months of its release.#starfield #Bethesda
— Manodeep Mukherjee (@AmiManodeep) June 27, 2023
A portion of netizens believe that this AMD-Bethesda Starfield deal could ultimately translate into a better gameplay experience with Asus ROG Ally as well as the Steam Deck, as these device use AMD Ryzen processors.
I hope that the #ROGALLY will allow #Starfield to play properly with AMD optimization.
— Antoine (@antoingyt) June 27, 2023
Hoping this means there is a chance it will run on the Ally!
— Ben (@benkenobi2020) June 27, 2023
Many netizens are against this AMD-Bethesda Starfield partnership
This is really bad… Every game partnership with AMD its very poorly optimized for NVDIA (90% of market). I will not buy it anymore.
— Jhonatan Orlando disabled by Elon Musk. (@Camerawbonner) June 27, 2023
DLSS is massively superior to FSR 2, so I don't understand why Microsoft / Bethesda would sign a deal that will lock DLSS out of Starfield. These deals are simply anti consumer and won't help AMD sell GPUs. Build a better product instead 😐
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 27, 2023
Some gamers have lauded the partnership, believing it will have a major impact on the Starfield Xbox gameplay. However, like many, they also seem to be confounded with the lack of DLSS support.
Love you AMD but please stop limiting games to not use DLSS because of partnerships.
— tiff92 (@AlexTiff) June 27, 2023
Gamers are hoping for DLSS addition after release. Furthermore, the decision of using FSR2 in particular has confused fans. A lot of them are hoping that even if Bethesda launches the game on FSR2, an update for the upcoming FSR3 might be coming in the future, which can potentially offer similar performance and upscaling quality at par with the current DLSS technology.
Please allow DLSS implementation
— john t (@jtownsendiv) June 27, 2023
Some believe this to merely be a marketing strategy, with NVIDIA also featuring a long history of exclusive partnerships with several studios.
This is just marketing, the game will support DLSS as well.
— UGLY. (@Ru_NRD) June 27, 2023
Source: AMD (via YouTube)
