To provide game developers with a seamless integration experience, Microsoft has unveiled a new Windows API that leverages high-resolution AI-up-scaling capabilities from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. Program manager Joshua Tucker claims that Microsoft’s new DirectSR API will “provide a smoother, more efficient experience across hardware” and calls it the “missing link” between super-resolution technology and games in a recent blog post.
According to the article, “A single code path can enable multiple solutions, such as Nvidia DLSS Super-Resolution, AMD FidelityFX Super-Resolution, and Intel XeSS, using a common set of inputs and outputs to multi-vendor SR [Super-Resolution]. “The idea seems to be that instead of needing to build code for each upscaling solution, developers will be able to support a single DirectSR API.
This blog post was published a few weeks after a feature called “Automatic Super Resolution” was discovered in the preview version of Windows 11, which it claimed “will make supported games with better details more easily. AI will be used to play with.” It now appears that instead of providing a Windows-level replacement, the functionality will be integrated with already existing super-resolution technologies such as DLSS, FSR, and XeSS.
According to Microsoft, a preview of their Agile SDK will make the new API public soon. It plans to provide a developer session at the next Game Developers Conference (GDC) with a “sneak peek” at how DirectSR can be used. Attending the March 21 session will be representatives from Nvidia, AMD, and Microsoft.
