Microsoft DirectSR API Seeks to Make Upscaling Easier

About a month ago, the Game Developers Conference 2024 schedule unveiled a new technology called Microsoft DirectSR. As one could easily guess from its name (Direct SuperResolution), it's an attempt to make the implementation of upscalers easier, and it was built in collaboration with all of the main CPU and GPU vendors (NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel).

Shawn Hargreaves, Dev Manager at Microsoft's Direct3D division, took the stage on Thursday, March 21, in Room 2009 of Moscone Center's West Hall to introduce Microsoft DirectSR. Hargreaves noted that PC games nowadays are expected to support multiple upscaling techniques right away (just think of the controversies when AMD FSR or NVIDIA DLSS are missing in a game, like with Starfield), and platforms want to apply newer, improved techniques to existing games. These are precisely the kind of problems that DirectX was always meant to solve on behalf of developers.

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Hence, there was a need for Microsoft DirectSR, which was described as a new DirectX API that abstracts multiple upscaling techniques with a standard interface. Built-in variants will ship as part of Direct SuperResolution and will be used across all hardware, while other variants will be specific to particular GPU/NPU hardware. All the available techniques will be enumerated, allowing the developer to pick which one they want. Microsoft DirectSR will submit for execution on an app-provided compute queue, with UI rendered over the top and then presented as normal.

Since AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution 2 was originally written as a general-purpose shader program and works on any graphics cards that support Compute Shader 6.2, Microsoft has integrated the core processing of AMD FSR2 into the DirectSR runtime. As such, as long as developers prepare the required preprocessing and parameters, their game will be able to run