The PhysX System Software is an open-source physics engine middleware SDK developed by Nvidia as part of the Nvidia GameWorks software suite. It is designed to simulate various aspects of physics in real-time, such as rigid body dynamics, soft body dynamics (including cloth simulation and tearing), ragdolls, character controllers, vehicle dynamics, particles, and volumetric fluid simulation. The software can be used in video games, 3D virtual reality platforms, 3D game development engines, and computer animation suites.
PhysX works by calculating particle physics on supported GPUs. It is responsible for simulating the behavior of objects in games, such as explosions, crumbling structures, ricochets, and other interactions. The software can be used to create additional effects in games, such as tearable cloth, dynamic smoke, and simulated particle debris.
The PhysX System Software is not necessary to install with the drivers unless you want to run PhysX in your games. It can now work on AMD graphics cards since it became open-source in 2018, but older PhysX GPU-accelerated games may have issues with AMD GPUs.
