NVIDIA Unveils Neural Texture Compression, Slashing VRAM Usage by 85%

NVIDIA has introduced RTX Neural Texture Compression (NTC), a new technology that dramatically reduces the size of game textures.

This technology aims to solve the VRAM bottleneck issue, allowing for high-quality graphics even on GPUs with less memory, like 8GB models.

The release was timed with the maturation of the ecosystem, including Microsoft's official support for DirectX's Shader Model 6.9, which is crucial for NTC.

NVIDIA's latest GTC 2026 conference showcased a potentially game-changing technology for PC gaming: RTX Neural Texture Compression (NTC).

In a compelling demonstration, NVIDIA showed a game scene's texture data shrinking from a hefty 6.5 GB down to just 0.97 GB—an 85% reduction in VRAM usage—all while maintaining nearly identical visual quality. This is significant because modern games are increasingly limited by video memory (VRAM). Many gamers with mid-range cards, especially those with 8GB of VRAM, often face stuttering or are forced to lower texture quality, even if the GPU itself is powerful enough. NTC directly addresses this 'VRAM bottleneck'.

So, how does this magic work? Instead of storing massive, uncompressed textures in VRAM, NTC uses a small neural network decoder that runs on the GPU. This decoder reconstructs high-quality textures in real-time as they are needed. It essentially trades a small amount of computational work for a massive savings in memory and storage, a trade-off that modern GPUs are well-equipped to handle.

The timing of this reveal is no coincidence. The technology's arrival is built upon a clear causal chain. First, the foundational concept was introduced in a 2023 research paper, laying the scientific groundwork. Second, the software ecosystem had to catch up. Microsoft recently finalized Shader Model 6.9 in its DirectX API, which includes features like 'Cooperative Vector' that are essential for running NTC's neural decoder efficiently. Third, NVIDIA has been refining the NTC SDK, releasing beta versions to developers and gathering feedback, ensuring it was ready for integration.

This convergence of academic research, API standardization, and developer tool maturity made the GTC 2026 demonstration possible. If widely adopted by game engines like Unreal and Unity, NTC could extend the lifespan of graphics cards with 8GB or 12GB of VRAM, allowing more players to enjoy high-fidelity gaming without needing expensive hardware upgrades.

VRAM (Video RAM): A type of high-speed memory used to store image and texture data that the graphics card (GPU) needs to access quickly. More VRAM allows for higher resolution textures and more complex scenes.
Shader Model 6.9: A set of specifications within Microsoft's DirectX API that defines the capabilities of a GPU's programmable processing units (shaders). Version 6.9 includes features optimized for machine learning tasks, which are critical for NTC.
SDK (Software Development Kit): A collection of tools, libraries, and documentation that developers use to create software for a specific platform. NVIDIA provides an SDK for NTC to help game developers integrate it into their games.

NVIDIA Unveils Neural Texture Compression, Slashing VRAM Usage by 85%

NVIDIA has introduced RTX Neural Texture Compression (NTC), a new technology that dramatically reduces the size of game textures.

This technology aims to solve the VRAM bottleneck issue, allowing for high-quality graphics even on GPUs with less memory, like 8GB models.

The release was timed with the maturation of the ecosystem, including Microsoft's official support for DirectX's Shader Model 6.9, which is crucial for NTC.

NVIDIA's latest GTC 2026 conference showcased a potentially game-changing technology for PC gaming: RTX Neural Texture Compression (NTC).

VRAM (Video RAM): A type of high-speed memory used to store image and texture data that the graphics card (GPU) needs to access quickly. More VRAM allows for higher resolution textures and more complex scenes.
Shader Model 6.9: A set of specifications within Microsoft's DirectX API that defines the capabilities of a GPU's programmable processing units (shaders). Version 6.9 includes features optimized for machine learning tasks, which are critical for NTC.
SDK (Software Development Kit): A collection of tools, libraries, and documentation that developers use to create software for a specific platform. NVIDIA provides an SDK for NTC to help game developers integrate it into their games.