If you’ve been diving into Assassin’s Creed Shadows and noticed that DLSS is nowhere to be found in the settings, you’re not alone. Many players with NVIDIA GPUs are scratching their heads, wondering why Ubisoft’s latest title seems to have skipped out on this highly sought-after upscaling tech. While the game does support other upscaling options, the absence of DLSS has left some players disappointed. So, is there a fix yet? Let’s take a look at what’s going on.
Affected players have reported that DLSS is mysteriously missing from the graphics settings in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and surprisingly, the culprit might be a plugged-in controller. One workaround that seems to work is launching the game without a controller connected—this makes DLSS appear in the settings. However, plugging the controller back in reportedly causes DLSS to disappear again.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Missing DLSS Issue: Is there any fix yet
The developers are aware of the missing DLSS issue, as they have responded to player reports. According to their statement, the team is currently investigating the problem. In the meantime, they have suggested a few potential fixes to try that make the DLSS option appear. However, they acknowledge that this is not a permanent fix and promise to update players once they have a proper solution. Anyway, here are a few potential fixes.
Rebooting the Game
One of the first troubleshooting steps recommended by the developers is to simply restart Assassin’s Creed Shadows. While this is not a guaranteed fix, some players have reported that rebooting the game can cause the missing DLSS option to appear. If you don’t see DLSS in the in-game settings menu, try closing and reopening the game a few times before attempting other fixes.
Launch game via Nvidia App
Another possible fix for the missing DLSS option in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is to launch the game directly from the NVIDIA GeForce Experience application instead of Ubisoft Connect or Steam. Some players have found that doing this forces the game to recognize the correct DLSS settings, which might not load properly otherwise. This is likely due to the NVIDIA app applying the proper DLSS profile for the game when launched through it. If DLSS is still unavailable, double-check your DLSS settings in the NVIDIA App and ensure your GPU drivers are up to date.
Ubisoft Connect launcher fix
If DLSS options disappear after relaunching the game, a simple fix is to quit the Ubisoft Connect launcher from the system tray and relaunch the game through Steam. Some players have noticed that launching the game via Steam (which also starts Ubisoft Connect) works initially, but on subsequent launches, DLSS options vanish. Restarting Ubisoft Connect before launching the game again can restore the settings.
Disabling Steam Controller Input
For those playing the game through Steam, it’s possible that Steam’s controller input is causing conflicts, due to which this issue is occurring. To disable Steam Input, go to your Steam library, right-click on Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and select Properties. From there, navigate to the Controller tab and change the Steam Input setting to Off.
DLSS override
To manually enable DLSS in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, go into the Ubisoft App and set the DLSS Override – Model Presets to “Use different settings for each DLSS technology.” Then, set Super Resolution to Latest, and if you have an RTX 4000 series GPU, set Frame Generation to Latest as well. The issue arises because the NVIDIA app isn’t properly loading the game profile that would normally apply these DLSS overrides automatically. By setting it manually, you ensure that your game uses the latest DLSS 4 Transformer model, which provides better Super Resolution and Frame Generation than older DLSS versions.
Delete.ini File
Another workaround for the missing DLSS option in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is to delete the .ini file from the game’s documents folder. To do this, navigate to: Documents > Assassin’s Creed Shadows, then find and delete the .ini file (usually named ACShadows.ini). This will reset some settings, and when you relaunch the game, DLSS options should reappear. If the issue persists, try rebooting your PC after deleting the file before launching the game again.
Bios-related fix
An advanced fix for the missing DLSS option in Assassin’s Creed Shadows is to enable Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) in your BIOS. XMP optimizes memory performance, which seems to resolve the issue entirely. Additionally, for those using an RTX 5090, enabling XMP also unlocks the 4x Frame Generation option, improving overall frame rates and performance. To enable XMP, restart your PC, enter the BIOS (usually by pressing Del or F2 during boot), navigate to the memory settings, and enable the Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) option. Save and exit, then relaunch the game to check if DLSS options are now available.
Disable Overlays
Disabling all overlays can help resolve the missing DLSS issue. Start by disabling the Steam Overlay by right-clicking the game in your Steam Library, selecting Properties, and unchecking “Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game” under the General tab. Next, go to the Controller settings in the same menu and set Steam Input to “Forced Off” to prevent conflicts. Additionally, if you have other overlays running (such as GeForce Experience, Discord, or Ubisoft Connect), disable them in their respective settings. Restart the game after making these changes and check if DLSS is now available.
Check for updates
Finally, if nothing works out, since the developers are aware of the missing DLSS issue, it’s important to keep the game updated at all times. Updates often include fixes for known bugs, and Ubisoft may release a patch addressing this problem. Check for updates regularly on Ubisoft Connect or Steam, and enable automatic updates if possible.
We hope that one of these workarounds was able to fix the issue for you and for more guides and news like this on all things gaming, keep visiting DigiStatement. And since we are on the topic of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, click here for other related reads.
