It's CES 2026 time, and as usual, this comes with a plethora of announcements from almost every tech-related company under the sun. Nvidia is no stranger to making big reveals at CES, but this time around, the big news are more software-related.
Across gaming and AI, Nvidia is unveiling a ton of new capabilities for its GeForce GPUs, as well as the GeForce Now service. For gamers, the headline may be DLSS 4.5, which brings improvements to every RTX GPU in the company's lineup.
DLSS 4.5 brings big improvements
For all RTX GPUs
Undoubtedly the biggest announcement of the bunch comes in the form of DLSS 4.5, which is available to all RTX GPUs, though some benefits are hardware-dependent. DLSS 4 originally introduced Nvidia's transformer model for upscaling, which delivered some notable improvements, but DLSS 4.5 is upgrading to a second-generation transformer model with five times the compute power of the original model. This new transformer model promises much smoother edges around objects, especially in motion, and it also aims to reduce or remove ghosting in fast-moving scenarios that could occur as a result of DLSS. Overall, the end result should be a much clearer and detailed image, though there may be a performance trade-off in some scenarios due to the increased compute power.
The second-generation transformer model is available to all RTX GPUs starting today, but DLSS 4.5 also brings dynamic multi-frame generation, a feature exclusive to the RTX 50 series GPUs, which supported multi-frame generation in the first place. This will be coming this spring, but it's also very exciting.
The new multi-frame generation in this update can generate up to five additional frames for each frame rendered (up from four in the original DLSS 4), and with the dynamic setting, you can make it so your GPU only uses frame generation to reach the target framerate depending on the power required. if your monitor has a 144Hz refresh rate, you can use the Nvidia app to set a 144FPS target, and the GPU will only generate the necessary frames to hit that target, leaving the rest up to traditional rendering for better image quality without sacrificing smoothness. Nvidia also promises better frame pacing with this update.
For modders, Nvidia introduced RTX Remix Logic, a feature that allows games to generate effects in response to in-game events. For example, a game can apply a random weather condition to the world when you open a door to exit a building, or generate visual effects in response to activating machinery.
Nvidia also announced new capabilities and implementations for AI-powered characters in games. One example shown was for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, where the game can generate an AI teammate who you can talk and give orders to as if they were a human player. A more notable example was Total War: Pharaoh, where the developers are upgrading the classic helper character, which gives advice to players so they can get their bearings, with a local AI model that can give more detailed insight into all the information a player needs to make decisions.
GeForce Now gets more powerful
And easier to use
If you're not playing games locally on your PC, you might love Nvidia's GeForce Now service, and if you do, there are some great news for you as well. In select regions, including the United States, Nvidia has now upgraded GeForce Now to offer power on par with the GeForce RTX 5080, enabling higher framerates and visual fidelity for the $19.99 Ultimate tier.
GeForce Now is also getting native support on more devices, most notably Linux. Starting with an initial release on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Nvidia is bringing a native GeForce Now client to Linux users, so you can enjoy cloud gaming with better performance and stability. Other Linux distros should also be supported in the future. GeForce Now is also getting an official app on Amazon Fire TV devices, expanding availability even more.
Finally, GeForce Now is also becoming more seamless with support for single sign-on (SSO) with Battle.net starting today, as well as upcoming SSO support for Gaijin.net.
New G-Sync Pulsar monitors deliver better clarity
Esports gamers rejoice
Rounding out the gaming announcements, Nvidia announced the new G-Sync Pulsar standard for gaming monitors, which aims to deliver a more consistent and clearer experience for competitive gamers. New G-Sync Pulsar monitors support 1440p resolution and 360Hz refresh rates, though Nvidia promises an "effective clarity" equivalent to over 1000Hz thanks to the technologies built into G-Sync Pulsar monitors. This is, of course, extremely important for fast-paced esports titles where pinpoint precision and quick reflexes can make or break a play.
These monitors also feature G-Sync ambient adaptive technology, meaning they can change settings such as brightness and colors depending on your ambient lighting for a more natural viewing experience. G-Sync Pulsar monitors will be available starting January 7th, with brands such as Acer, AOC, Asus, and others kickstarting the lineup.
And of course, there's AI
It wouldn't be a tech event without it
Moving beyond gaming, Nvidia also shared some new features and capabilities around AI. The company is promising improved performance by up to 35% when running local models on Nvidia GPUs using Llama.cpp or Ollama. Nvidia has also been doing some work to greatly reduce the amount of VRAM needed to run image generation models such as FLUX.1 and FLUX.2 in ComfyUI, with up to a 60% reduction thanks to new NVFP4 and NVFP8 models.
Nvidia also announced the new LTX-2 video model using NVFP8, which can generate video up to 4K resolution at 30FPS. Plus, with RTX Video in ComfyUI, coming in February, you'll be able to upscale video to 4K much more quickly. In Nvidia's example, a 10-second 720p video that would previously take 15 minutes to upscale can now be upscaled in just 3 minutes.
Nvidia provided a fairly compelling scenario for using all these generative AI capabilities combined. A user can generate 3D assets to start with, then manually arrange them in Blender to compose a starting shot, as well as an ending shot. Then, using FLUX, they can generate a 720p video that leads from one shot to the other, then finally use an upscaling model to turn that video into high-quality 4K footage.
Finally, another truly useful feature enabled by these AI capabilities is Nexa Hyperlink, which can search the content of documents and files to find the exact file you want, even if you don't remember its name. With a beta update later this month, Nexa Hyperlink will also be able to search the content of video files, which could be a huge timesaver for video producers.
While there isn't any new hardware from Nvidia this time around, there are still plenty of reasons to be excited by today's announcements if you have a GeForce GPU.
