Abstract: Disclosed herein are system, method, and computer program product embodiments for reducing GPU load by programmatically controlling shading rates in computer graphics. GPU load may be reduced by applying different shading rates to different screen regions. By reading the depth buffer of previous frames and performing image processing, thresholds may be calculated that control the shading rates. The approach may be run on any platform that supports VRS hardware and primitive- or image-based VRS. The approach may be applied on a graphics driver installed on a client device, in a firmware layer between hardware and a driver, in a software layer between a driver and an application, or in hardware on the client device. The approach is flexible and adaptable and calculates and sets the variable rate shading based on the graphics generated by an application without requiring the application developer to manually set variable rate shading.