Microsoft Expands Advanced Shader Delivery to Nvidia and Intel

Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) is expanding its reach to include more graphics processing units (GPUs), including Intel and Nvidia. This service aims to reduce shader compilation stutter and speed up first-boot shader burns, making games launch faster.

Currently, ASD only supports recent AMD Radeon GPUs like the RX 9000 series. However, Microsoft plans to roll out support for additional Windows devices powered by these other manufacturers later this month.

This is significant news, especially since the service has just been implemented in Gears of War: E-Day. Once the expanded support goes live, owners of Intel and Nvidia GPUs will be able to enjoy games without experiencing shader compilation stutter.

Wendy Ho, DirectX Program Manager, notes that ASD reduces shader compilation at launch to 'just a few seconds', compared to several minutes. This represents a 95% reduction in burn time.