What the official notes say
The Steam announcement describes a free update for owners of both games. The publisher says it is a conventional modernisation job, as one outlet puts it. The publisher itself stresses that it is not a full remaster or remake and that the original Redux look is preserved.
The PC changes the notes list:
- Uncapped frame rates, depending on hardware.
- Support for 4A TSR, NVIDIA DLSS and AMD FSR upscaling.
- Screen Space Global Illumination.
- Increased geometry and texture detail, plus 4K textures.
- Fixes for pixelated bloom, broken shadows, missing volumetric lighting, white halo artifacts, flickering shadows and unstable SSAO.
- Fixes for crashes on modern hardware, including Windows 11, AMD GPUs and high-refresh-rate displays.
- A power-optimized mode for Xbox Ally/X and the Microsoft Store version.
The console versions are scheduled for October 29. DLSS 5 is a PC matter and should not be assumed for consoles.
How the DLSS 5 option was found
Renan Maniero spotted a DLSS 5 DLL in the game folder matching the version used in NBA 2K27, and other players confirmed a DLSS-NR (Neural Rendering) option in the graphics settings. Overclock3D's independent testing also confirmed Neural Rendering in both games. 4A Games' release notes don't mention it. The setting is a confirmed in-game option, not a feature announced by 4A Games or NVIDIA.
Several outlets call these the second and third DLSS 5 titles after NBA 2K27. Wccftech says they beat Hogwarts Legacy, which adds support on November 5, by nearly two weeks. That ranking is the outlets' own count, since neither the studio nor NVIDIA announced it.
What it does and what you need
Unlike DLSS Super Resolution, Neural Rendering uses AI to modify lighting and material appearance based on the game's rendered image. VideoCardz says the feature is supported on GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs and RTX Spark systems. Yoro Gaming reports it must be used alongside DLSS and doesn't automatically increase frame rates. In practice, that makes it a visual-quality toggle that costs performance. It is not a speed-up like Super Resolution.
The official notes give no minimum GPU or driver requirements for the feature. Treat the RTX 50 requirement as a media report, not an official specification.
Early impressions: faces improve, worlds barely change
Wccftech reports that DSOGaming's comparison shots show noticeably better character faces. It also says the performance hit is noticeable, which may point to the model that debuted with NBA 2K27 rather than the newer, faster one. That is speculation from the outlet, not a confirmed detail.
DSOGaming's John Papadopoulos said characters look better with the setting on but that it is not a magic wand-style fix. His words were different, but his point was that rough hair remained rough. He found the world changes minor during play. A Brazilian YouTuber, EZ, reached a similar conclusion in a gameplay video that Wccftech and GamingBolt both cite. These are reviewer impressions, not objective image-quality measurements.
Wccftech suggests the faces-first result could be deliberate, since the DLSS 5 SDK reportedly lets developers apply Neural Rendering selectively. That is plausible but unconfirmed.
One tester's performance numbers
DSOGaming tested Last Light Redux on a Ryzen 9 7950X3D with 32GB of DDR5-6000, an RTX 5080 and an RTX 5090. It ran Windows 10 with Game Ready driver 621.01.
- At native 1440p with DLAA, it saw 220–250 FPS with DLSS 5 on.
- With DLSS 5 off, it saw more than 330 FPS, with GPU usage around 70%.
This is a single test on top-end hardware. Results will vary with GPU, resolution and settings. Wccftech's view is that the games still run at very high frame rates, so the cost may not matter much on a fast card. DSOGaming's advice was to skip DLSS 5 if you can't reach roughly 40–50 FPS before frame generation.
Launch-day PC problems, and a hotfix
DSOGaming had a rough time at launch:
- Resolution choices were stuck at 1440×1080 until the author reinstalled graphics drivers.
- Changing a setting in the NVIDIA App reportedly brought the limit back.
- Last Light Redux stuttered intermittently.
- V-Sync locked a 240Hz monitor to 60 FPS.
These are one tester's observations, not confirmed universal bugs. The Steam announcements page does show a later hotfix for both games' PC Next-Gen versions. It addresses resolution problems the community reported, with a fix so the game detects higher resolutions correctly. The listed version numbers are Steam 26159616 (2033 Redux) and 26159638 (Last Light Redux), and 0.1.0.28 on Epic for both. GOG is 3.0.0.19 for both. If you hit the resolution cap, update first. The notes do not say whether the V-Sync and stutter reports are addressed.
Practical notes before you update
- Check your GPU. Reports say Neural Rendering needs an RTX 50-series card. Everyone else keeps DLSS, FSR and 4A TSR.
- Enable DLSS first. DSOGaming says the Neural Rendering setting appears once you enable DLSS, so it won't work with FSR or 4A TSR.
- Microsoft Store owners: the notes say upgrading the Store version carries no saves over and recommend a new game. Chapter select is unlocked with default equipment. PC Games Hardware also flags bad news for Store owners.
- Need to roll back? The notes list legacy branches, metro_2033_redux_legacy and metro_last_light_redux_legacy, for PC owners who don't meet the update's specs.
The bigger picture
DLSS 5 arrived in this much-loved shooter with no fanfare. The patch notes were vague, and the discovery came from a player and DLL inspection. For PC gamers, that makes clear that "DLSS support" in a changelog may now mean more than upscaling. It also shows how a game's graphics menu can outrun its documentation. Whether DLSS 5 shows up in Metro 2039, due February 4, 2027, is unclear. Wccftech's author says it wasn't in the preview build he played a couple of months ago.
Update: Next-Gen Update launches on Xbox Series X|S (October 29, 2026)
The free Next-Gen Update for both Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Wire announced on October 29. The console release follows the PC update and confirms the scheduled Xbox launch.
Xbox Wire says the update offers modes for native 4K at 60 frames per second or upscaled 4K at 120 frames per second, along with 4A TSR upscaling and antialiasing. Players can also expect more detailed textures, revised lighting and shadows, richer environments and improved animation.
The update adds support for Xbox controller Impulse Triggers, providing tactile feedback during play. Xbox Wire also announced Xbox Play Anywhere support and full support and optimization for Xbox Ally and Ally X handhelds.
These are Xbox features; the announcement does not establish that DLSS 5 Neural Rendering is available on consoles.
Update: Next-Gen Update reaches PS5 (October 30, 2026)
According to Notebookcheck, the free Next-Gen Update for both Metro Redux games also launched on PlayStation 5 on October 29. The outlet reports that PS5 Pro owners get PSSR upscaling.
Notebookcheck says the console update offers native 4K at 60 FPS or upscaled 4K at up to 120 FPS on supported hardware. The PS5 release expands the console rollout beyond the Xbox Series X|S launch already announced by Xbox Wire.
Update: Early Xbox footage shows Metro 2033 Redux performance (October 30, 2026)
According to Pure Xbox, initial footage from YouTube channel Fuzion Xbox Testing shows Metro 2033 Redux running at a 4K output in both its 60 FPS and 120 FPS modes on Xbox Series X. Pure Xbox reports that the 60 FPS mode sometimes dips into the 50s or even the 40s, while the 120 FPS mode appears largely stable in the footage.
On Xbox Series S, the game appears to run at 1080p and a mostly steady 60 FPS, according to Pure Xbox. That gives Series S owners an early indication of what to expect beyond the previously announced console modes.
These are observations from initial footage, not a comprehensive performance test or an official specification. They apply specifically to Metro 2033 Redux; the source does not provide equivalent performance figures for Metro: Last Light Redux. Actual results may vary across scenes, and the reported 4K output should not be taken as confirmation of the internal rendering resolution.