Tuesday, May 20th 2025

AMD Announces FSR 4 Updates Project Redstone
AMD in its Computex 2025 keynote address announced an overview of FSR 4 implementation. FSR 4 introduces a new AI Machine Learning-based super resolution algorithm that's more accurate, and vastly improves image quality at every performance preset. AMD also announced FSR "Project Redstone." This is a future version extension of FSR, and "Project Redstone" is its working title. "Redstone" combines the AI ML super resolution introduced by FSR 4, with three new features—neural radiance caching, an AI ML-based Ray Regeneration, and AI ML-based Frame Generation. The company plans to launch "Redstone" in the second half of 2025.
All three features being introduced by "Project Redstone" aim to achieve technological parity with NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 and DLSS 4, particularly in AAA games with ray tracing enabled. Neural Radiance Caching sees an AI ML model continually learn how light bounces in a scene to predict and store indirect lighting, which reduces the performance cost of ray tracing. AMD FSR "Redstone" Ray Regeneration is functionally similar to NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction. It uses a neural network to regenerate pixels that couldn't be accurately path-traced. This should improve the quality of reflections, particularly when super resolution is used. The next big announcement of course is a new AI ML-based model for Frame Generation.AMD has been using a slightly spruced up interpolation technology as its take on Frame Generation, which it introduced with FSR 3. With "Project Redstone," AMD is replacing this method of frame generation with a new ML-based model that incorporates temporal and spatial awareness to generate interleaving frames with greater accuracy and image quality. This isn't multi-frame generation, but the 2x frame-rate doubling NVIDIA achieved with RTX 40-series "Ada," but with greater image quality.AMD announced that over 60 game titles support FSR 4. Integrating FSR 4 is as easy as it was for game developers to integrate FSR 3.1, so it should be fairly straightforward for devs to push patches to their existing FSR-enabled titles to support the latest version.
All three features being introduced by "Project Redstone" aim to achieve technological parity with NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 and DLSS 4, particularly in AAA games with ray tracing enabled. Neural Radiance Caching sees an AI ML model continually learn how light bounces in a scene to predict and store indirect lighting, which reduces the performance cost of ray tracing. AMD FSR "Redstone" Ray Regeneration is functionally similar to NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 Ray Reconstruction. It uses a neural network to regenerate pixels that couldn't be accurately path-traced. This should improve the quality of reflections, particularly when super resolution is used. The next big announcement of course is a new AI ML-based model for Frame Generation.AMD has been using a slightly spruced up interpolation technology as its take on Frame Generation, which it introduced with FSR 3. With "Project Redstone," AMD is replacing this method of frame generation with a new ML-based model that incorporates temporal and spatial awareness to generate interleaving frames with greater accuracy and image quality. This isn't multi-frame generation, but the 2x frame-rate doubling NVIDIA achieved with RTX 40-series "Ada," but with greater image quality.AMD announced that over 60 game titles support FSR 4. Integrating FSR 4 is as easy as it was for game developers to integrate FSR 3.1, so it should be fairly straightforward for devs to push patches to their existing FSR-enabled titles to support the latest version.
49 Comments on AMD Announces FSR 4 Updates Project Redstone
FSR4 really does look great and is massively useable, so they really need to double down on adoption, for instance DOOM Dark Ages not having it is a massive wasted opportunity.
Adding ray reconstruction and ML-assisted frame generation should bring this up to parity with DLSS, and it's good to hear of the neural shaders also being supported. All that will be missing is 3x and 4x rate frame generation, which should be more useful on this level of hardware compared to something that's vastly more powerful like a 5090... but ultimately not a dealbreaker if you ask me.
Which brings me to my second point. FSR 4 is dead technology. Simply because they restricted its compatibility only to latest gen of their cards. The only reason devs bothered to implement FSR 3 is, because it ran on Nvidia cards. Why would anybody implement technology almost nobody is going to use? That's a waste of ever so scarce resources in games development industry. Redstone should be mainly about extending its support to older gen cards and to Nvidia cards.
EG1. But nvidia and I assume AMD need to make it easier to enable. Im not going to go into inspector and play around with presets and whatnot to get dlss 4 / fsr 4 working. Im paying, you do that for me, pleasekthanksbye.
I went back and re-watched AMDs presentation, and I see where part of the writer’s confusion is. Right after they got finished talking about “FSR Redstone”, they then followed up on a slide showing the number of FSR 4 games going from 37 to 60 on June 5th. So for someone who hasn’t followed AMD and is just trying to get an article out quickly, I can see where things would get mixed up. Going back and forth with these acronyms and slides and topics, and so on, could be confusing for someone who isn’t super familiar with AMD products.
So here’s a summary.
- March 6, 2025 - AMD launched the 9070 XT and, along with it, FSR 4 and its Machine Learning Upscaler. (Around 30ish games supported at launch - 37 at this moment in time)
- June 5th 2025 - over 60 games total will support FSR 4
- June 5th 2025 - 9060 XT GPU will launch
- Some time in the 2nd half of 2025, “Redstone” will launch. Maybe they’ll call it “FSR 4.1”? Maybe?
Redstone will have more ML features added to go along with the ML upscaler that is already present in FSR 4.0. The three new things will be Neural Radiance Caching, ML Ray Regeneration, and ML Frame Gen.
This is kind of in-line with AMDs past approach of starting off with some features and adding value over time with driver and software updates. Like how FSR 3.1 brought Native AA to the existing implementation of FSR 3. That’s why I’m guessing the final name for these new features will be FSR 4.1 - it would follow the precedent of FSR 3. They may have wanted to put these features in the original FSR 4 implementation but just got behind and didn’t want to hold up the new GPU line. I’m a software engineer, so I get it - things get behind sometimes for various reasons. But we still want to get our products out. AMD hasn’t said anything about wanting to change the upscaling feature, and everyone I’ve seen review it has had nothing but high praise for it. Digital Foundry was singing its praises since it was first previewed at CES. Many say, while it doesn’t come quite to DLSS 4 quality, it’s close, and looks better than DLSS 3 in many cases. So FSR 4 isn’t beta or pre-release. It’s just the first version with more updates to come.
I agree with you about features: I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have ray reconstruction as part of the initial implementation of FSR 4. It’s good to have them bringing their ML stuff up to parity with Nvidia. Maybe better feature parity and competition will push Nvidia to bringing their prices down. Probably not - but it’s a nice thought. Multi frame gen is nice I guess, but not something I’m personally concerned with. I don’t mind the “fake frames” that others complain about, but I just don’t see where more than 2x would be useful to me and my games. But I also agree, there mfg is probably more important to lower powered hardware than a beast like the 5090.
In general, though, I don’t get into this brand loyalty hate thing that I’ve seen a lot of computer building enthusiasts get into. I don’t have any personal hate of Nvidia, nor do I hate AMD. In general I like AMD products, but I think the Nvidia control panel is much easier and nicer than Adrenalin. I like how Nvidia has had ray reconstruction - and I like how AMD still uses 8 pin PCI-E connectors. The point is, I can appreciate the good of all brands, while also acknowledging the bad; I just like to buy things that make me happy. And my 9070 XT has made me a happy gamer. And i personally really like the quality of FSR 4 upscaling. Native AA (or DLAA for Nvidia) is a nice thing too since most of the games I play I play on my 1440p monitor and I don’t really need the upscaling part. Even on my 65” 4K OLED I don’t always need the upscaling. I don’t really mind the driver toggle.
Of course, we’re all entitled to our preferences and opinions. The world is big enough for both AMD and Nvidia GPU gamers . It’s also nice that intel is making some good competitive budget GPUs.
If a game has FSR < 3.1 then Complain to the developer or use Optiscaler.
Optiscaler which currently supports enabling FSR 4 in 207 games and counting. I've used it with great results in: Lies of P, Lords of the Fallen, Mount and Blade II, Clash Artifacts of Chaos, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands.
At this point I'm convinced that FSR 4 and DLSS 4 could be ported to Nvidia and AMD respectively as the required hardware is there. Of course they will remain separate and duplicate each other's work because of all the sunk R&D costs and vendor politics.
Many, many people bought a 9000 series card so far so idk why you think hardly anybody will use it. We shall reap the rewards!
I actually feel like AMD has a massive point to prove and a reason to push forwards with the amount of 9070/XT's they've sold so far, especially with Nvidia in the press for all the wrong things recently. Surely they recognise this too.
Become a force to be reckoned with and you'll get the attention of the game developers.
Will they make a come-back (in the high end segment)? Only time will tell, but would be good for competition and gamers alike :D .