Microsoft’s DirectSR upscaling API supports AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 3.1. Microsoft’s DirectSR tool, an API for game developers to program support for all three significant graphics upscaling techs in games, will make it easier for games to support FSR 3.1 in addition to the other upscaling modes.
DirectSR is an API for DirectX12 games that allows game developers to enable support for multiple upscaling tools with a single code path. AMD’s FSR 3.1, Nvidia’s DLSS, and Intel’s XeSS often see mutual exclusivity in video game releases because coding support for all three upscaling solutions is an undue time expense. DirectSR effectively unifies the three solutions, allowing developers to support all three upscalers with a single API.
DirectSR had native support for FSR 2.2 in its earliest iterations, with Intel and Nvidia support requiring additional drivers. The new FSR 3.1 support is likewise baked into the DirectSR runtime, requiring only an update to the newest preview releases of the API. Thanks to better temporal awareness, FSR 3.1 offers improved ghosting reduction and reduced flickering or shimmering.
So far, only 43 games are listed with FSR 3 support on AMD’s FidelityFX landing page. This is largely due to the ubiquity of Nvidia GPUs and, therefore, an obvious preference for DLSS support in games. DirectSR’s FSR 3.1 support is likely to come with a much easier workflow for implementing the tool and a wider berth of high-end upscaling support for AMD users.
DirectSR seeks to succeed as a widely supported development tool, whereas Nvidia’s Streamline SDK did not. Back in 2022, Streamline sought to offer the same one-stop multi-vendor support as DirectSR, but AMD opted out of supporting the SDK. Intel was linked to the tool early on, but XeSS support in Streamline has never materialized. DirectSR’s links to Microsoft seem to have given it more life than Streamline’s “open-source” status.
Game developers interested in implementing the new FSR 3.1 support in DirectSR can find it through the Agility SDK 1.715.1-preview release. The tool is officially in prerelease, so full support and better bug squashing are yet to arrive.
