Fans worry as AMD becomes Starfield exclusive partner
Will AMD limit your options when optimizing Starfield in-game?
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As the hype around Starfield continues to build with the release date announcement and gameplay footage, even more information is coming out on what we can expect. In a recent video from AMD, it has been announced that they are going to be the exclusive partner of Starfield. Todd Howard explains that it will allow them to utilize AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs and Radeon 7000 GPUs to their full potential.
Bethesda says that many engineers from AMD are optimizing the game for optimal use of the hardware. Along with the implementation of FSR 2, since the game will likely require it to run with how vast it appears to be. It’s slightly bizarre to not include AMD’s 3rd generation (FSR 3) that’s been in the works for a while now.
This has upset plenty of users, under the video in the comments, or plenty of Reddit threads (r/hardware, r/AMD, r/PCGaming, r/Games) that do show a varied response to the news. It’s especially blown up with the recent WCCFTech report on the fact that AMD-sponsored titles seem to be mostly exclusive in implementations. This means only the addition of FSR as an upscaler and skipping on Nvidia’s DLSS or Intel’s XESS. Whereas Nvidia games often see other features.
Bethesda are yet to confirm any lack of support, however, many fans have already voiced their discontent with the fact it could exclude other software support. The exclusivity can hurt what is implemented into the games, such as new DLSS 3 frame generation or even ray tracing since AMD GPUs aren’t as efficient at it and don’t support the new technology. This leaves the majority of the market without direct support as Nvidia is still the majority market share holder.
Why exclusivity shouldn’t be a thing
As much as we love AMD hardware and them being a great option in hardware decisions, exclusivity is not the way forward. Since it is just another way of trying to stifle competition. Being on the back foot is hard in the market but cutting support for other hardware is more petty than it has to be. With no real answer to the WCCFTechs report, it has allowed it to get more out of hand than it needs. It has not been confirmed if Starfield will be exclusive since some Sony titles on PC still support Nvidia and Intel so maybe Bethesda is big enough to still be allowed that privilege.
These upscalers are a necessity these days it seems since games haven’t always come with the best performance on PC, like Jedi Survivor most recently. These can boost what the framerate and performance is like and can allow the experience to be much smoother. Although FSR is available to all GPUs, it isn’t specifically optimized for certain cards, so while being great in general, more options is always better.
There are benefits to the likes of Nvidia DLSS and Intel XESS. Nvidia’s implementation is limited to RTX hardware anyway but it utilizes said hardware more effectively. Especially when it comes to 40 series and frame generation that is needed for that improved feature that can even further push the boundaries of upscaling. That is the same for the more limited Intel implementation that itself struggles with drivers, XESS is a great way to get the most out of it.
Overall, AMD shouldn’t limit your experience of games just due to the hardware you run. Not many PC users, if any, are going to buy hardware based on a game’s sponsorships. It just hurts those that want to get the most out of their hardware to enjoy the game better than just base. It can be as frustrating as games exclusives on consoles between Sony and Xbox, but PC still gets some benefits there.
