NVIDIA’s PhysX SDK initially became open source over six years ago under the 3-Clause BSD license, but certain components remained proprietary until recently. The latest GitHub release has now made the GPU simulation kernel source code available, addressing this limitation. NVIDIA announced the release with the following statement:
New Open Source GPU Simulation Kernel
We’re excited to share that the latest update to the PhysX SDK now includes all the GPU source code, fully licensed under BSD-3!
With over 500 CUDA kernels facilitating features like rigid body dynamics, fluid simulation, and deformable objects, GPU PhysX showcases a sophisticated application of CUDA and GPU programming. This release is intended as a valuable resource for learning, experimentation, and development within the community.
Additionally, we are open-sourcing the full GPU compute shader implementation of the Flow SDK, our real-time, sparse grid-based fluid simulation library.
Impact on Gaming Community
While NVIDIA PhysX has not been in the spotlight for some time, it garnered attention due to the withdrawal of support for the new GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards. This prompted gamers to explore unconventional fixes, including pairing an RTX 50 GPU with an RTX 3050 solely for PhysX tasks.
This situation affects a few older PC titles, such as Batman: Arkham Asylum and Mirror’s Edge. However, the recent release of the GPU simulation kernel source could empower modders to address these issues independently. Although it would have been preferable for NVIDIA to resolve the problems directly, this open-source release provides a pathway for the community to develop potential solutions. The gaming community will be observed closely for any modding efforts that utilize the newly accessible GPU simulation kernel source code.