- AMD has confirmed plans to move on from the RX 5000 and RX 6000 GPUs.
- Future game-specific optimization driver updates will be exclusive to RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 GPUs, like the RX 7700 XT and RX 9070 XT.
- It remains to be seen how this decision will impact RDNA 2-based handhelds and consoles.
AMD’s RDNA 2 series is among the gaming giant’s most successful. Indeed, this lineup of GPUs is found across a slew of gaming PCs, in addition to current-gen consoles and various handhelds.
Both RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 have received extensive support from AMD over the years, but the gaming giant has confirmed that this is set to change soon.
Why it matters: AMD recently debuted its RDNA 4 lineup and saw plenty of praise. The gaming giant has teased that it is now focusing on these products and what the future holds for them.
The RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 GPUs made their initial debut in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Since then, both lineups have enjoyed plenty of software support from AMD, with the RDNA 2 series being among the most stable lineups from the gaming giant.
However, AMD has officially confirmed that its optimization focus will now be limited to RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 products, including the likes of the RX 7700 XT and RX 9070 XT.
Future driver updates with game optimizations will focus on RDNA 3 and RDNA 4.
-AMD
According to the company, the previous two RDNA generations will still receive security and bug fixes through software updates, but specific game optimizations will be limited to the last two GPU generations.
What makes this statement so interesting is that recent handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally use RDNA 2 hardware. Similarly, the PS5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X make use of this architecture for their hardware. FSR4 INT8 was also recently rumored for GPUs belonging to this family.
Since RDNA 2 products, at the very least, are still so popular in the market, this announcement comes across as a bit tone deaf on AMD’s end. The brand has since received much criticism over this decision.
On the other hand, AMD is actively investing in new technologies for the future. The RX 9070 XT and others in the RDNA 4 lineup have also been quite successful, so the company seems to be doing the right thing from its perspective.
Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the RX 5000 and 6000 GPUs now that driver support is being fizzled out.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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