Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 director defends DLSS 5, says it restored the team's vision

What happened

Daniel Vávra, creative director of both Kingdom Come: Deliverance games, posted on X on August 30, 2026 a visual before-and-after comparison for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 which he said demonstrates the effect of DLSS 5. In his post he argued the left image suffered from the engine’s limited lighting while the right image shows the same model after DLSS 5, with no geometry changes.

Vávra wrote that some critics had “literally gone crazy” and presented the comparison to argue the processed image better matches the team’s original artistic intent. He highlighted specific rendering issues in the earlier image: missing helmet shadows on faces, problematic normal map rendering and loss of skin-texture detail.

The post arrived amid a broader debate over DLSS 5, described in the source as controversial for its uncanny visual results and for raising concerns about whether AI-driven tools alter developers’ artistic intent. The article notes Nvidia has tried to defend the technology in the context of these disputes.

Why this is happening

DLSS 5 is framed in the source as contentious partly because of its unusual or ‘‘uncanny’’ aesthetic, sometimes referred to by critics as ‘‘AI slop’’. Opponents worry that automated alterations at scale could change the creative decisions made by developers, while proponents point to potential technical improvements.

Vávra attributes the shown issues to technical limitations of the game engine’s lighting and normal-map handling, and says DLSS 5 restored missing shadows and texture detail without changing model geometry. The source does not provide detailed technical explanations of how DLSS 5 achieved these results or step-by-step confirmation.

The story is set against prior internal controversy at Warhorse Studios: earlier this year English-language editor Max Hejtmánek publicly said he was fired so he could be “replaced with AI.” That comment underscores existing tensions within the studio over AI’s role in development.

How this will affect things

The post drew immediate responses on X from players and commentators. Some users agreed with Vávra’s assessment; others said the DLSS result looked over-polished or odd. User Goosewasinuse, reposting a quote, said they could understand Vávra’s perspective but felt DLSS ‘‘oils up’’ characters to an uncomfortable degree, while Knight(Fate)1029384756 argued that relying on machine processes cannot substitute for human effort.

The article does not include independent verification or technical analysis corroborating Vávra’s claims, so it remains unclear whether the improvements shown are consistent across locations in the game or reproducible on different hardware. No statement from Nvidia or a detailed technical response from Warhorse Studios appears in the source.

Practically, if the claims are borne out, the example could strengthen the case for using such algorithms as a tool to realize or restore intended visual goals. At the same time, recent staff controversies about AI, including the Hejtmánek remark, highlight ongoing trust and labor concerns regarding automation in creative workflows.

What happens next

The source provides no timeline for patches or a rollout of DLSS 5 in public builds of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, so it is not known whether or when the changes shown will be included in a widely available version. There is also no information about an official audit or demonstrations across multiple system configurations.

Discussion over DLSS 5 and artistic integrity is likely to continue among developers and players, given the divided responses on X documented in the article. What is confirmed in the source: Daniel Vávra posted the comparison on August 30, 2026 and asserted DLSS 5 aided the team’s vision; Warhorse Studios has previously faced AI-related controversy, including the public comment by Max Hejtmánek that he was fired to be ‘‘replaced with AI’’. What remains unknown: technical specifics of DLSS 5’s intervention in this case, any official comments from Nvidia or Warhorse about this example, and plans for broader deployment of these changes.