Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 director Daniel Vávra is no stranger to controversy, having previously defended Nvidia’s controversial DLSS 5 technology – and now, it seems that he’s back to do so yet again.
In case you missed the Warhorse Studios veteran’s previous words on the matter, he stated that tech like DLSS 5 would “replace expensive raytracing” someday and was just suffering an “uncanny beginning.”
Well, now that Nvidia’s AI-powered neural rendering model is back in the limelight, Vávra has more to say – and it’s evident he’s still very much on the side of the tech rather than against it, as many players appear to be.
In fact, the Kingdom Come: Deliverance lead says “some people have literally gone crazy” over DLSS 5 on X, showcasing a comparison of models within his own game before and after the tech has been applied.
“On the left is a head messed up by the game engine’s very limited lighting system, which can’t properly render shadows, skin texture, and the detail of normal maps,” writes Vávra. On the right? An improvement, apparently.
Some people have literally gone crazy.On the left is a head messed up by the game engine’s very limited lighting system, which can’t properly render shadows, skin texture, and the detail of normal maps. On the right is THE SAME MODEL WITHOUT ANY GEOMETRY CHANGES, which looks… pic.twitter.com/8ZxVpYCRghAugust 30, 2026
That’s thanks to “better lighting, shadows, skin texture, hair, and therefore DETAILS, which is thanks to… you guessed it, “neural network rendering in DLSS 5.”
Obviously, not everyone agrees with him here, and the comments make as much clear – but Vávra doubles down on his take in a separate thread. Explaining how “the whole AI situation is really funny” to him, he argues that most devs use the tech.
“A very vocal group of people hates it, and absolutely every developer is terrified that they’ll come after them, so they all swear up and down that they definitely don’t use any AI,” Vávra writes.
“The reality? Of course that EVERYONE uses it! Every one! Absolutely every developer across many companies that I’ve spoken with over the past year uses AI. Programmers can’t get anything done without it anymore.”
Since I stirred up a hornet’s nest of AI hatred today, I’ll add a little more 🙂 Just so you know. I don’t work for any company. I’m not working on any game. So you have nothing to boycott guys 🙂 I’m retired for now, sipping whiskey, and having a great time, so I don’t give a… pic.twitter.com/TtrZE6xeW8August 30, 2026
He goes on to say that “most developers” are even manufacturing their own in-house AI tools “for just about everything,” from models to art to screenwriting to… well, you name it.
And, to top that all off, he adds, “You know who uses it the most? Usually the most talented people I know. They are the ones who are least afraid and who see its huge potential.” While I’m not sure I personally agree with that, it’s clear that AI is growing in popularity.
Whether that’s a good thing is a hot-button topic, as Vávra’s posts make clear, but one thing’s for certain: he strongly believes in the tech himself.
He says it makes game dev more accessible, too, as “no one wants to work on a game for a decade,” and AI can help cut that time. Will the product truly be the same quality or carry the same human touch it’d boast with no AI use, though?
Well, I’ll leave that up to you.