AMD has reassured users that its Radeon RX 5000- and 6000-series GPUs will continue receiving driver updates despite an initial announcement suggesting a shift to maintenance mode. The company addressed backlash following the release of its Adrenalin driver version 25.10.2. This decision maintains stability for older architectures like RDNA 1 and RDNA 2.
Last week, AMD released version 25.10.2 of its Adrenalin driver package for Radeon GPUs, which included typical bug fixes and game performance improvements. However, the accompanying announcement stated that support for Radeon RX 5000-series and 6000-series GPUs, based on RDNA 1 and RDNA 2 architectures, would move to "maintenance mode." This implied that GPUs launched as recently as 2022 would no longer receive fresh fixes and optimizations for new games, sparking backlash as reported by Tom’s Hardware.
In response, AMD issued clarifying statements, affirming that these older GPUs would still get "new features, bug fixes, and game optimizations" based on "market needs." A separate post emphasized that the 25.10.2 release "is not the end of support for RDNA 1 and RDNA 2," with integrated and dedicated GPUs continuing to receive "game support for new releases," "stability and game optimizations," and "security and bug fixes."
AMD explained that the architectures have been shifted to a separate driver path to prevent features for newer RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 GPUs from causing issues on older hardware. "These [RX 5000 and RX 6000-series] products now benefit from a dedicated, stable driver branch, one built on years of tuning and optimization," AMD stated. "This approach helps deliver a smoother, more consistent experience for your games while insulating previous generation GPUs from rapid changes designed for newer architectures… 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."
The release notes omitted Windows 10 from compatible operating systems, listing only Windows 11 21H2 and later. AMD confirmed to Windows Latest that Windows 10 support would continue for the foreseeable future, noting Microsoft's ended support but availability of extended security patches for home users and ongoing enterprise support until at least 2028.
This reassurance is significant, as Nvidia continues supporting its GeForce RTX 20- and 30-series cards from 2019 to 2022. RDNA 2 powers devices like the Steam Deck since 2022 and the entry-level ROG Xbox Ally. AMD last scaled back support in 2023 for Polaris and Vega architectures. For Linux users, including SteamOS, drivers remain separate and supportive of even older GPUs.