NBA 2K27 has shipped with a never-before-seen DLSSNR runtime, hinting at the arrival of NVIDIA's next-gen neural rendering tech.
The early access build of NBA 2K27 includes a 158 MB DLL file named nvngx_dlssnr.dll, identified as NVIDIA DLSSNR 310.8.0.0. According to Renan Maniero, who discovered it in early access files of NBA 2K27, this is the first publicly accessible DLSSNR runtime found in a released game build.
For some context, NVIDIA announced DLSS 5 in March as a real-time Neural Rendering model, with SIGGRAPH 2026 being where NVIDIA provided more details and explained that DLSS 5 takes color output and motion vectors for each frame and feeds them into a real-time neural rendering model. That model understands the different aspects of the frame and its contents, such as skin, hair, fabric, lighting direction, and material properties, and then uses that to produce an improved image.
- Read more: NVIDIA announces DLSS 5, which leverages AI to generate 'photoreal' graphics and lighting in real-time
- Read more: NVIDIA's latest driver quietly adds the first signs of DLSS 5 Neural Rendering support
- Read more: DLSS 5 only takes 2D rendered frames and motion vectors as input, not 3D game engine data, confirms NVIDIA
Notably, the file is three times larger than current DLSS 4 components, which could be viewed as an indicator that DLSS 5 is a considerable jump compared to previous generations. However, NBA 2K27 currently lacks UI options or settings to activate DLSS Neural Rendering, and NVIDIA has not officially listed the title as DLSS 5 compatible.
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This discovery aligns with NVIDIA's ongoing push into AI-driven rendering, as we have seen with the Blackwell generation and DLSS 4 Multi-Frame Generation. With modders already dissecting the file, we may soon see what DLSS 5 can deliver in a real-world game, and I personally cannot wait to see what the new technology can do.
