Microsoft to introduce DirectSR, AI upscaling feature for video games, at next month's event

Microsoft is set to launch DirectSR, its AI upscaling feature for video games, at the 2024 Game Developers Conference (GDC) event in San Francisco next month. 

According to GDC 2024’s schedule, the session takes place on March 21, between 12:45 am and 1:45 pm. Microsoft’s folks over at the DirectX team will be giving a presentation packed with exciting reveals. Partnering with AMD and NVIDIA, they’ll also showcase work graphs and updates for Microsoft’s graphics debugging tool PIX, besides (obviously) DirectSR preview.

Here’s what Microsoft exactly says, “Microsoft will provide a preview into DirectSR, making it easier than ever for game devs to scale super resolution support across Windows devices.”

Not too long ago, Microsoft also brought an upscaling feature called “Auto SR,” launched in the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26052 for both Canary and Dev channels.

This feature, which will also make its way to the big Windows 11 24H2 update later this year, lets you boost gaming performance and visual quality simultaneously through AI. 

But, unlike other solutions, it utilizes an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) instead of a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). You can also toggle this “Auto SR” setting on an individual app basis through your settings.