AMD Accidentally Exposes FSR 4 Source Code

On August 20, AMD updated its FidelitySDK on GitHub, rolling out support for FSR 4 and FSR 3.1.5. This toolkit is designed for game developers to integrate upscaling and other technologies into their projects. But alongside the update, AMD inadvertently uploaded the full source code for FSR 4, a technology the company had no intention of making public.

Despite AMD’s swift move to delete the files after spotting the error, it was too late. Within hours, users had created numerous forks of the repository and saved copies of the files, ensuring the code remained accessible to anyone interested. The critical factor here is the MIT license, which allows free use, copying, and modification of the software. This means anyone who downloaded the files before they were removed now has legal rights to use them.

Legally, AMD has no grounds to demand the removal of copies made before the files were taken down. The MIT license is irrevocable unless the publisher didn’t own the code in the first place, which doesn’t apply here since FSR 4 is AMD’s own creation.

Analysis of the leaked files revealed an intriguing detail: AMD engineers were working on an FSR 4 version compatible with RDNA 3 GPUs, potentially unlocking frame generation and advanced upscaling algorithms. Evidence of this lies in code handling FP8 and INT8 computations. However, the RDNA 3 support appears incomplete, and it’s unclear where this project stands now.

An AMD spokesperson confirmed the code was posted by mistake and has since been removed. The community is buzzing with debate over whether AMD should now embrace FSR 4 as open-source. Previous FSR versions were deliberately released publicly, leading many to expect the same for FSR 4.

The FSR 4 leak isn’t just a technical misstep — it’s a game-changer with far-reaching implications. A technology meant to stay under wraps is now in the hands of the community, thanks to the MIT license and GitHub’s active users. AMD must now navigate a new reality where its proprietary innovation is freely available.