Like AMD's TressFX before it, Nvidia's HairWorks is a software routine that's optimized for their own GPU line. Nvidia's technology is closed source, making it difficult for AMD to optimize routines in the software to run better on their GPUs.  This results in lower performance for users when it is enabled on AMD hardware.

A CD Projekt Red developer says "unsatisfactory performance may be experienced, as the code of this feature cannot be optimized for AMD products."

The incentive for a GPU manufacturer to develop a proprietary API optimized for their hardware is high, especially if it raises their product above the competition. For game developers, the main draw in using these APIs is help from the hardware maker, or sometimes a marketing deal. Many games have sported the "Nvidia: The Way It's Meant to be Played" splash screens. In other markets there are similar strategies, Intel has their own code compiler optimized for their CPUs, for example.

Perhaps these features would never have made it in if it weren't from help from the hardware developer, but this situation unfortunately results in a fragmentation of the end user experience.

High end graphics cards are expensive, so it would be difficult to justify buying both an AMD and Nvidia GPU to have the optimal experience at any given time. As a PC gamer, what do you make of this situation?