AMD’s Anti-Lag+, or as I personally like to refer to it, Anti-Ban+, was an innovative technological solution that operated at the driver level by modifying a game’s DLL files.
It functioned as an exclusive feature for the Radeon RX 7000 series, providing a counterpart to NVIDIA’s “Reflex” technology with the goal of reducing input latency in games for an enhanced gameplay experience.
However, Anti-Lag+ encountered a significant drawback: in certain use cases, particularly in competitive online gaming, users faced the risk of receiving game bans when using Anti-Lag+.
AMD’s Anti-Lag+ demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in significantly reducing input latency in just about any game, especially when considering how NVIDIA’s Reflex technology had to be manually implemented at a development level, meaning limited use cases.
In comparison to the standard version of Anti-Lag, AMD introduced a frame alignment feature that altered the game code to improve synchronization and further minimize latency. However, these adjustments were significant enough to trigger detection by anti-cheating software systems.
Anti-Lag+ proved especially effective when combined with technologies like FSR 3 or other “frame generation” solutions. These solutions are often criticized for increasing input latency and causing inconsistent frame time latency, making Anti-Lag+’s impact even more pronounced.
However, shortly after a slurry of users were reporting that they were getting banned alongside media outlets catching on, AMD removed the utility as a whole effectively on October 18th 2023.
This was most unsettling for gamers who’ve bought fancy new AMD Radeon graphics cards, as the standard Anti-Lag solution which remains viable is nowhere near as drastic compared to Anti-Lag+ (go fucking figure).
The decision to remove it should have been left to users, with clear warnings about enabling it for online games. There are numerous use cases for the technology, as not everyone exclusively plays live service games like Fortnite or Apex Legends.
Many users primarily engage with single-player games, where cheating bans are not a concern and therefore Anti-Lag+ should remain available to enhance a users experience.
Now, as per Frank Azor, AMD’s Chief Architect of Gaming Solutions & Marketing, Anti-Lag+ is poised to return after being removed almost four months ago.
It remains uncertain whether AMD will reintroduce Anti-Lag+ once again as a driver-level feature or opt to implement it officially in games via FSR3. This approach would involve collaborating with game development studios to ensure the feature’s implementation and approval, similar to how NVIDIA’s Reflex functions in popular games like Counter-Strike 2.
