Nvidia's New Game Ready Driver Supports DirectX Raytracing, Windows 10 Update

Graphics companies are practically obligated to release drivers that improve support for new games. Nvidia's new driver released today wasn't meant for a game, however. It was made to swiftly enable the DirectX Raytracing API released with the Windows 10 October 2018 Update. The company relies on that API for its RTX graphics cards' ray tracing capabilities, so it promptly released the GeForce Game Ready 416.16 WHQL driver for Windows 10.

Nvidia has been cranking out drivers over the last few weeks. It released one alongside the RTX 2080 to introduce support for its latest graphics cards, then followed that up with another driver on September 27 to improve upon that support. Both drivers also included updates to help make sure FIFA 19, Forza Horizon 4 and Assassin's Creed Odyssey would run properly on Nvidia graphics cards regardless of whether they're in the GTX or RTX lines.

But the company doesn't just have to worry about new games and graphics cards. It also has to make sure people who install the latest version of Windows don't have to roll back to a previous version just because of a driver issue. Major operating system updates tend to break things--and the Windows 10 October 2018 Update has, in fact, been accused of causing problems with Intel's audio drivers that can lead to CPU and battery problems.

Hence, the 416.16 WHQL driver. In addition to support for the Windows 10 October 2018 update--and therefore the DirectX Raytracing API--Nvidia made several other changes with this driver. The most prominent is the inclusion of new or updated SLI profiles for several titles:

• Basingstoke - AFR profile added
• Battlefield V - AFR re-enabled
• Divinity: Original Sin II - AFR profile added
• Immortal: Unchained - AFR profile added
• Jurassic World Evolution - AFR profile added
• Phoenix Point - AFR profile added
• Seven: The Days Long Gone - AFR profile added

Nvidia also introduced 3D Vision profiles for The Elder Scrolls: Online (Good) and Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Not recommended) for the few people who still attempt to make 3D gaming work on anything other than a Nintendo 3DS. Aside from those changes, Nvidia made various bug fixes and performance improvements that are outlined in the full release notes for the GeForce Game Ready 416.16 WHQL driver.

You can find this new driver on Nvidia's website and the GeForce Experience app. Remember that it's specifically for systems running Windows 10--which makes sense, considering its focus--so you don't have to go looking for it if you're desperately clinging to Windows 7 or 8.1 for as long as possible.