Future GPU Strategy Unveiled by AMD through Open Source Announcement

AMD has made a surprising move by inadvertently releasing the source code for their latest upscaling technology, FSR 4. This technology, designed to improve performance and visual quality in games, is intended for their latest Radeon GPUs, but recent developments suggest that AMD may be planning to extend its availability to older Radeon GPUs, including a version optimized for the upcoming RDNA 3 architecture.

During the launch of FidelityFX SDK 2.0, AMD made the source code for FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4) available online. The leaked code contained two variants: one using FP8 instructions for RDNA 4 GPUs, and another using INT8 instructions, hinting at compatibility testing with older RDNA 3 graphics cards.

Official statements regarding the possibility of AMD opening the source of FSR 4 have yet to be made. However, the structure of the code, accessible and well-organised for developers, suggests that it is designed to be modified and integrated. This is reminiscent of earlier versions of FSR technology, such as FSR 1 and 2, which were made partially open source through AMD's GPUOpen platform.

FSR 4 builds on FSR 3.1 and introduces FP8 instruction-based processing, optimized for the RDNA 4 GPU architecture. The appearance of the INT8 variant in the leak suggests that AMD may have considered broader support for FSR 4, although no official statements have been made to confirm this possibility.

The release of FSR 4 also brings improvements in stability, reduced ghosting, and enhanced visual fidelity compared to previous FSR versions. FSR 4 is officially recommended for the Radeon RX 9000 series of cards and above. AMD could easily make FSR 4 open source if they chose to, as demonstrated by the accidental release.

Alongside FSR 4, AMD also released FidelityFX SDK 2.0, providing developers with tools, signed binaries, and Unreal Engine 5 integration. Only time will tell whether AMD will officially open source FSR 4, but the signs are promising for those hoping for broader access to this promising technology.