AMD has set the record straight on Radeon driver support: RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 graphics cards aren’t being abandoned. Following confusion around the Adrenalin 25.10.2 release notes, the company confirmed that Radeon RX 5000 (RDNA 1) and RX 6000 (RDNA 2) GPUs will continue to receive updates for new games, performance optimizations, security patches, and bug fixes.
What sparked the concern was wording around a “separate branch” and “maintenance mode” in the latest driver, which many interpreted as the end of meaningful support. AMD now clarifies that support continues, but with a new structure designed to improve stability for existing cards while accelerating feature development for newer hardware.
Here’s what’s changing and what’s not:
– Continued support: RX 5000 and RX 6000 series will keep getting day-one game support, stability improvements, and security/bug fixes.
– Dedicated driver branch: Older RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 GPUs move to a stable, well-tested codebase built on years of tuning and game-specific optimizations.
– Faster features for new GPUs: RDNA 3 (RX 7000) and RDNA 4 (RX 9000) get a separate branch so engineers can introduce new features more quickly without risking stability on previous generations.
Why this matters
– Better reliability for existing owners: A dedicated, mature branch helps ensure a smoother, more consistent experience in current and upcoming games.
– Ongoing performance tuning: Despite the separate path, AMD states that performance optimizations and game compatibility updates will continue for RDNA 1 and RDNA 2.
– Clearer roadmap: Separating code paths helps align feature velocity with hardware capabilities while keeping legacy support intact.
The bottom line: if you’re gaming on an RX 5000 or RX 6000 series GPU, you’ll keep receiving the updates that matter—new game support, optimizations, and critical fixes—while AMD pushes new features at a faster clip for RDNA 3 and RDNA 4. Adrenalin 25.10.2 remains the latest driver for RDNA-based GPUs today, and AMD says its commitment to long-term Radeon support hasn’t changed.
