Intel says it is shifting its focus to next-generation graphics processors. Earlier it was reported that the company may close its graphics division AXG.
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"Everyone agrees on the idea that graphics is a critical technology for the customer, a critical technology for the data center, and we want to start competing in a core area where our competitors are making a lot of money. So all three things are critical to Intel," said engineer Tom Petersen.
In its roadmap, Intel outlines at least three more generations of Arc GPUs - Battlemage, Celestial and Druid.
Battlemage development has already begun, Petersen confirms, and most graphics engineers are now focused on the second generation GPU. Some of them are even looking at early Celestial specs.
Some of the team is focusing on DX11 support. Earlier, Intel warned that Arc GPUs could reduce the performance of older games on DirectX 9 and DirectX 11 APIs compared to Nvidia and AMD graphics cards. The company said it will no longer provide hardware support for DirectX 9 APIs with solutions on the Xe architecture in 12th-generation Core processors, as well as in discrete Arc A-series graphics cards on the Arc Alchemist architecture.
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Working on Battlemage, engineers are taking action to get the GPU "to market faster and with fewer surprises."
So far, Intel has not released specific dates for the Battlemage release, promising to release the GPU in 2023-2024. Celestial is promised to hit the market after 2024.
For now, Intel is focused on the first generation Alchemist Gen cards, with the A770 and A750 expected soon.
