Nvidia Tops Up RTX 50 Driver with Restored PhysX for Well-Known Titles

In an exciting update for gamers, Nvidia's latest Game Ready driver brings back support for PhysX technology for their RTX 50-series graphics cards, enhancing popular titles such as Borderlands 2 and Mirror’s Edge.

Earlier this year, Nvidia introduced their latest RTX 50-series graphics cards without the option to use PhysX, a technology that enhances video game realism by simulating complex phenomena like glass shattering and liquid dynamics. Responding to gamer feedback, Nvidia has now reinstated support for the technology, bringing it back to some of the most played titles.

As Nvidia explained, 'Our community reached out for this feature, and in response, our updated driver today integrates custom support specifically for GeForce users most frequently playing games that rely on PhysX, thereby optimizing them for RTX 50 Series GPUs to deliver peak performance akin to our earlier GPU lines.'

PhysX's Original Exclusion from the RTX 50 Series

Games like Borderlands 2 and Mirror’s Edge heavily utilized PhysX. However, they initially couldn't leverage the latest Nvidia GPUs as the RTX 50-series abandoned support for 32-bit CUDA, which these older games depended on. The result was a reliance on CPUs for PhysX effects, leading to frame rates dropping below 60fps in some cases.

Reintroduction of Custom Support

For the moment, Nvidia has enabled 'custom support' for several fan-favorite games that benefit from PhysX acceleration. The currently supported list includes:

Array

Future Plans and Limitations

Looking ahead, Nvidia intends to extend support to Batman: Arkham Asylum sometime in early 2026. However, there have been no announcements regarding other titles. Historically, PhysX has been confined to few games, and as tracked by dedicated forum participants, over 40 titles have been affected by this compatibility issue with the RTX 50-series GPUs. Complete support for all these titles remains improbable.

For those eager to enhance their gaming experience, Nvidia's new driver version 591.44 can be readily downloaded from their official site or through the Nvidia software.