**AMD Confirms Continued Driver Support for RDNA 1 & RDNA 2 Radeon GPUs**
AMD has addressed recent concerns regarding driver support for its older Radeon GPUs based on the RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 architectures. In a new statement, the company has clarified that Radeon RX 5000 and RX 6000 series cards will continue to receive driver updates, including new game support, optimizations, and security fixes.
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### Background: Confusion Around Adrenalin 25.10.2 Driver Release
The release of the AMD Adrenalin 25.10.2 driver update sparked confusion among Radeon users. The update changelog noted that RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 GPUs would be moved to a separate driver branch and labeled as entering “Maintenance Mode.” Additional changes included the temporary removal of USB-C power charging support on the RX 7900 series (which was later reverted) and an increase in the overall driver package size to over 1 GB.
The primary concern, however, was the uncertainty around future driver support for older GPUs. Initial AMD statements hinted that game support for these older GPUs would continue “as per market needs,” but the vague wording failed to clarify exactly what that entailed.
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### AMD’s Clarification: Continued Support with Dedicated Driver Branches
Today, AMD has provided a clear explanation on Radeon GPU driver support moving forward. According to the company, RDNA 1 (RX 5000 series) and RDNA 2 (RX 6000 series) GPUs will continue to receive:
– Support for the latest game releases
– Stability and game optimizations
– Security patches and bug fixes
These updates will arrive similarly to those provided for their latest RDNA 3 (RX 7000 series) and upcoming RDNA 4 (RX 9000 series) GPUs.
The key difference is that older GPUs will benefit from a dedicated, stable driver branch. This branch is built on years of tuning and optimizations, ensuring stability and consistent performance for current and future games. Meanwhile, newer GPUs on the RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 architectures will receive drivers that can integrate new features faster through a separate development path.
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### What This Means for Radeon Users
AMD summarized the situation as follows:
> “This is not the end of support for RDNA 1 and RDNA 2. Your Radeon RX 5000 and RX 6000 series GPUs will continue to receive game support for new releases, stability and game optimizations, as well as security and bug fixes.
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> The difference is that these products now benefit from a dedicated, stable driver branch, one built on years of tuning and optimization. This approach helps deliver a smoother, more consistent experience for your games while insulating previous generation GPUs from rapid changes designed for newer architectures.”
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### Why AMD Is Taking This Approach
AMD explained the rationale behind splitting the driver codebase:
> “Our goal is simple: to give every Radeon gamer the best experience possible. By separating the code paths, our engineers can move faster with new features for RDNA 3 and RDNA 4, while keeping RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 stable and optimized for current and future games.”
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### AMD’s Commitment to Radeon Gamers
The company reinforced its commitment to supporting all Radeon users:
> “We’ve supported Radeon gamers for generations and that commitment isn’t changing. Whether you’re gaming on an RX 5000, RX 6000, or the latest RX 9000, you’ll continue to get the reliability, performance, and care you expect from AMD. Because we’re all part of the same gaming community and every Radeon gamer matters.”
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### Looking Ahead
It will be interesting to monitor how AMD delivers on this promise in upcoming driver releases. Currently, the Adrenalin 25.10.2 driver stands as the latest update available for RDNA series GPUs.
For Radeon users, this clarification should bring reassurance that their older GPUs will continue to receive essential support while allowing AMD to innovate rapidly on its newest architectures.
https://wccftech.com/amd-promises-continued-driver-support-for-rdna-1-rx-5000-rdna-2-rx-6000-gpus/