This Nvidia App feature brings frame generation to games that never supported it

Published Nov 15, 2026, 4:30 PM EST Hamlin has been in the tech field for over nine years. Since 2017, his work has appeared on MakeUseOf, Android Police, OSXDaily, Beebom, and more. He served as the Senior Editor at Valnet's MakeUseOf for over two years before joining XDA. He uses a high-end gaming rig for desktop use and a MacBook for traveling, but dislikes some of the quirks of macOS. You're more likely to catch him at the gym or on a flight than anywhere else. Even though I've never really been a huge fan of frame generation, I still find myself using it every now and then, especially in graphically demanding AAA titles. As long as my base frame rate is decent, I don't mind the extra input latency it adds, at least in slower, single-player games where I'm focused on the story. The problem, however, is that you can't expect every new release to support frame generation, no matter how popular it has gotten in the last few years. And let's not forget the countless titles that came out before it was even a thing. But thanks to the Smooth Motion feature in the Nvidia App, native support can be the least of your worries. Because unlike DLSS FG, which relies on motion vectors and depth information from the game engine, Smooth Motion works at the driver level. This means you can essentially enable frame generation in games that launched years ago, even if they have an FPS cap at the engine level, like Elden Ring. The catch, though, is that you'll need at least an RTX 40-series GPU. A boon for games that have been left behind No need to wait for developers to add frame generation Developers these days are keen on adding upscaling and frame generation to their games, especially those working on AAA titles at big studios. But that wasn't always an option, and there are plenty of great games from just a few years ago that never received support for DLSS FG. God of War and Resident Evil 4 are good examples. And let's be realistic. How many developers are going to revisit their older titles just to add a feature that wasn't available when those games launched? That's why I like Smooth Motion. It doesn't need any support from the game itself. In fact, Smooth Motion can even make games that are locked to 60FPS look smoother. I'm talking about popular titles like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Dark Souls III, and Elden Ring. If you have a high-refresh-rate monitor, you probably hate how all that headroom goes to waste. With Smooth Motion, at least you're getting smoother-looking gameplay despite engine-level limitations. And since it doesn't actually remove the FPS cap, you don't have to worry about potentially breaking game mechanics or physics tied to frame rate, like in Fallout 4. It's Nvidia's answer to Lossless Scaling Why install another app just for frame generation? Before Nvidia rolled out Smooth Motion, one of the easiest ways to get frame generation working in unsupported games was to use Lossless Scaling. I mean, it still is if you don't have an RTX 40- or 50-series graphics card, considering it works with GPUs from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. And to be fair, it still offers a lot more flexibility than Smooth Motion, including the ability to generate multiple frames for every rendered frame. But at the same time, I feel that's overkill for older, unsupported titles where you're already getting decent frame rates. Smooth Motion, on the other hand, keeps things simple, and that's partly why I like it more. You just open the Nvidia App, go to Graphics > Program Settings, select the game you want to use it with, and enable Smooth Motion under Driver Settings. You don't need to spend time fiddling with different frame generation models and multipliers, hoping for the best results. And more importantly, the last thing I want while gaming is another app running in the background, so Smooth Motion is a welcome addition to an app I already use for other features like RTX HDR and Instant Replay. It's basically a worse version of DLSS FG But it's not like I have an option to choose between the two Smooth Motion shares the same core drawbacks as DLSS FG, in the sense that it doesn't actually improve your game's responsiveness despite making your FPS counter jump. If anything, the added input latency can make things worse, especially if your starting frame rate is well below 60FPS. And since Smooth Motion doesn't have access to motion vectors and depth information from the game, it's also more prone to visual artifacts than DLSS FG, particularly around fast-moving objects and HUD elements. Tell XDB what you want the PC to do and how much you want to spend. We'll find parts that fit, with current prices. What will you use it for? Pick any Games or apps Optional Budget Of course, I'd choose DLSS FG over Smooth Motion any day of the week, but that's not an option in most older games. The whole point of Smooth Motion is to bring frame generation to games that don't support it, so I don't think it's fair to dismiss it just because it isn't as good as the native implementation. Besides, we're mostly talking about older games that aren't really demanding by today's standards. So, with higher base frame rates, the added input latency shouldn't be nearly as bothersome as it would be in newer AAA releases. As for artifacts, I don't think they're a dealbreaker as long as they don't distract me while I'm cruising through the story. Can't complain too much about having a fallback Even though Smooth Motion is far from perfect and worse than native DLSS FG, it's still nice to have an option when the latter isn't available or doesn't work properly with other features. I've had issues with the native implementation clashing with HDR in 007: First Light recently, so being able to fall back on Smooth Motion instead is something I appreciate. I get that having to deal with more artifacts is frustrating, but choppier gameplay without frame generation can be even worse.