Fortnite DLSS, FSR and Frame Gen: What Actually Works
Updated Published
On this page
Fortnite supports NVIDIA DLSS, Epic’s TSR and Intel XeSS — but only in the DirectX 12 rendering mode, and it has no AMD FSR and no in-game frame generation. That’s the short answer to most “where is FSR / how do I turn on frame gen in Fortnite” searches: the options aren’t missing from your PC, they aren’t in the game. Epic’s own support page confirms FSR “is not currently available as an in-game option.” This guide shows where each real upscaler lives, the best values for competitive play, and when Performance mode beats all of them.
What Fortnite actually supports (2026)
| Feature | In Fortnite? | Where | GPUs |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA DLSS (Super Resolution) | ✅ Yes | DirectX 12 → Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution | GeForce RTX only |
| TSR (Temporal Super Resolution) | ✅ Yes | DirectX 12 → Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution | Any |
| Intel XeSS | ✅ Yes | DirectX 12 → Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution | Any modern GPU |
| AMD FSR | ❌ No | Not an in-game option (per Epic) | — |
| Frame generation | ❌ No in-game toggle | Driver-level only (Smooth Motion / AFMF) | RTX 40/50 · Radeon |
| NVIDIA Reflex | ✅ Yes | Settings → Video | GeForce |
The anti-aliasing list Epic gives for Fortnite is TSR, NVIDIA DLSS, Intel XeSS, FXAA, SMAA and TAA. If a guide tells you to “set the upscaler to FSR” in Fortnite, it’s describing an option that doesn’t exist.
Rendering Mode: Performance vs DirectX 12
Which upscalers you can use depends on Settings → Video → Rendering Mode. Fortnite now has two choices:
| Rendering Mode | Upscalers | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Performance (lower graphical fidelity) | None exposed — its own simplified renderer | ⭐ Max FPS + lowest input delay on most PCs |
| DirectX 12 | DLSS, TSR, XeSS | Better visuals on a capable GPU at a target FPS |
Two things changed recently, and many older guides still describe the old menu:
- Performance mode is no longer DirectX 11. Update v37.00 (August 2025) replaced the old DX11-based Performance mode with a DirectX 12 version; the old one was kept briefly as a Legacy option.
- DirectX 11 is gone from the menu. Epic removed the DirectX 11 option from Rendering Mode in update v40.10. You can still force it with the
-d3d11launch argument, but that’s a crash-troubleshooting step, not a performance setting — it has no upscalers.
Changing Rendering Mode needs a game restart before the new options appear. For competitive play, Performance mode usually beats DirectX 12 + DLSS on both frame rate and responsiveness because it renders far less to begin with. Our best Fortnite settings guide walks through the full Performance-mode setup.
How to turn on DLSS (or TSR / XeSS) in Fortnite
- Open Settings (gear icon) → Video tab.
- Set Rendering Mode to DirectX 12, apply, and restart Fortnite.
- Back in Video, scroll to Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution and pick NVIDIA DLSS, TSR or XeSS.
- Set the quality mode (or TSR’s resolution) — values below.
If DLSS isn’t in the list, check that you’re on DirectX 12, that your card is a GeForce RTX (GTX cards can’t run DLSS), and that your GPU driver and Windows are up to date.
Best DLSS, TSR and XeSS settings for Fortnite
| Setting | Competitive recommendation |
|---|---|
| Upscaler | DLSS on RTX · TSR or XeSS on AMD Radeon, Intel Arc and GTX |
| Quality mode | Quality (Balanced only if you still miss your FPS target) |
| NVIDIA Reflex | On + Boost on GeForce |
| Extra anti-aliasing | None — the upscaler already handles it |
| FPS cap | Just below your monitor’s refresh rate |
Quality mode is the sweet spot: a real FPS gain with little clarity loss, so distant enemies stay sharp. Avoid DLSS Performance or Ultra Performance in a competitive shooter unless your GPU is genuinely struggling — heavy upscaling softens far-away players. For the trade-offs between the modes, see DLSS Quality vs Balanced vs Performance, and for how the three upscalers compare on image quality, DLSS vs FSR vs XeSS.
On AMD Radeon: since FSR isn’t offered, TSR is the natural choice — it’s Epic’s own upscaler and is tuned for Unreal Engine 5. XeSS also runs on Radeon cards; try both at the same quality level and keep whichever looks sharper on your setup.
Frame generation in Fortnite: why it’s missing, and whether to force it
Fortnite has no in-game frame generation toggle — neither DLSS Frame Generation nor FSR Frame Generation appears in Epic’s list of options. You can force it from outside the game:
- NVIDIA Smooth Motion — driver-level frame generation in the NVIDIA App for RTX 40 and 50 series. See Smooth Motion vs DLSS Frame Generation.
- AMD Fluid Motion Frames (AFMF) — driver-level frame generation in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition.
For competitive Fortnite, leave both off:
- Input latency goes up, not down — generated frames are shown after the next real frame is rendered, so your aim and edits register later.
- It needs a strong base frame rate to look clean; below ~60 real FPS it smears.
- The FPS counter climbs while real responsiveness drops, which hides the cost. The mechanism is covered in frame generation input lag explained.
Driver-level frame generation is fine for relaxed Creative maps or sightseeing on a high-refresh monitor — just not for build fights and edit peeks.
Pair upscaling with a proper FPS cap and Reflex
Whatever rendering mode you choose, two settings finish the latency chain:
- NVIDIA Reflex On + Boost — one of the simplest latency cuts in the game on GeForce cards.
- Cap your FPS just below your refresh rate so the GPU never saturates and adds a frame of lag — see how to cap your FPS correctly and the best FPS cap for low latency.
For everything below the game — Windows timer resolution, power plan, and system input delay — the timer resolution pillar and input delay guide cover the rest of the stack.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Does Fortnite support DLSS?
Yes. Fortnite supports NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution on GeForce RTX graphics cards, alongside Epic's TSR and Intel XeSS. To use it, set Rendering Mode to DirectX 12 in Settings → Video, restart Fortnite, then pick DLSS under Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution. DLSS is not available on GTX cards such as the GTX 1080 Ti, which lack the Tensor cores DLSS needs — use TSR or XeSS on those instead.
Why don't I see FSR in Fortnite's settings?
Because Fortnite doesn't offer it. Epic's own support page states that AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) is not currently available as an in-game option in Fortnite. On an AMD Radeon card, use TSR (Epic's built-in upscaler) or Intel XeSS, both of which run on any modern GPU, from Settings → Video → Anti-Aliasing & Super Resolution in DirectX 12 mode.
Does Fortnite have frame generation?
Not as an in-game setting. Epic's list of Fortnite's anti-aliasing and super resolution options is TSR, NVIDIA DLSS, Intel XeSS, FXAA, SMAA and TAA, with no frame generation option. You can force frame generation from the driver instead — NVIDIA Smooth Motion in the NVIDIA App on RTX 40 and 50 series cards, or AMD Fluid Motion Frames in AMD Software — but it adds input latency, so it's a poor fit for competitive Fortnite.
Should I use DLSS or Performance mode in Fortnite for competitive play?
For the highest FPS and lowest input delay on most PCs, use Performance mode. It is Fortnite's lower-fidelity renderer and has been built on DirectX 12 since update v37.00 in August 2025, but it does not expose the DLSS, TSR or XeSS upscalers. Choose the DirectX 12 rendering mode with DLSS Quality instead only if you have GPU headroom and want the better-looking image.
Can you still use DirectX 11 in Fortnite?
Not from the in-game menu. Epic removed the DirectX 11 option from Rendering Mode in update v40.10, so the choices are now DirectX 12 and Performance. You can still force DirectX 11 by adding -d3d11 under Additional Command Line Arguments for Fortnite in the Epic Games Launcher settings, but that path has no DLSS, TSR or XeSS and is only worth trying as a stability test.