In the world of video game graphics, AMD is like the Pepsi to Nvidia’s Coca Cola. They have been battling for gaming supremacy for over a decade now, especially in high-end PC graphics, and much like the Cola Wars, the two companies are not above taking a few public potshots at one another.

In an interview with Ars Technica UK this week, AMD’s chief gaming scientist Richard Huddy spoke out about performance issues affecting the recently released CD Projekt RED game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

When asked about claims that AMD did not offer enough support to CD Projekt to make the game run smoothly, Huddy responded, “That’s an unfortunate view, but that doesn’t follow from what we’re seeing. We’ve been working with CD Projeckt Red from the beginning. We’ve been giving them detailed feedback all the way through.”

“It’s wrecked our performance, almost as if it was put in to achieve that goal”

Huddy specifically called out Nvidia’s HairWorks program, which simulates and renders fur and hair, as the primary culprit for the game’s performance problems.

“Around two months before release, or thereabouts, the [Nvidia] GameWorks code arrived with HairWorks, and it completely sabotaged our performance as far as we’re concerned,” Huddy said. “We were running well before that…it’s wrecked our performance, almost as if it was put in to achieve that goal.”

Huddy also said that he was told by CD Projekt management that the team had not been supplied with source code from Nvidia, despite Nvidia’s claims to the contrary.

AMD’s own hair simulation code, TressFX, was not used in The Witcher 3, and Huddy explained that when he asked the development team about including it, he was told “it was too late.”

Image credit: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt | CD Projekt RED