Shader Model 5.0 is old, having come out in 2009 with DirectX 11. It's long overdue for some innovation and a few changes to make it better than it is. Sure, games look great using the underlying ...
Microsoft has released DirectX 12 Agility SDK 1.619 as the retail package that formalizes Shader Model 6.9 and expands the “shipping-ready” surface area for several Direct3D 12 features.
The latest DirectX release standardizes advanced rendering features key to path-tracing performance and the use of AI in games.