On March 23rd, Microsoft is set to unveil a groundbreaking image scaling technology, DirectSR, at the upcoming Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2024. This new software will be a noteworthy addition to the arsenal of game developers worldwide.
Details of DirectSR remain under wraps, but industry anticipation suggests it will be a universal image scaling software for graphics cards, powered by various graphics cores and integrated at the Windows operating system level. The types of graphics cores to be used will be clarified by Microsoft in the March event.
Observers speculate that DirectSR aims to provide universal compatibility with the latest graphics processors architectures, matching proprietary scaling technologies like Intel’s XeSS, AMD’s FSR, and NVIDIA’s DLSS. Examples like AMD FSR and Intel XeSS show that these technologies need not be tailored for specific graphics cards. Instead, they can be made functional on third-party hardware, albeit with varying effectiveness.
Currently, game developers must individually incorporate each of these scaling technologies into their games. With DirectSR, Microsoft potentially offers a technology compatible with all contemporary GPU architectures that could be more straightforward to implement in games.
Microsoft plans to present the unveiling on March 21, where AMD and NVIDIA representatives will join them. Leaks have recently revealed that Microsoft is also working on a new scaling function called Auto SR for Windows 11.
The extent to which Auto SR is linked to DirectSR remains unclear. Still, available descriptions suggest that it uses AI-based algorithms for its operation.
