Something to look forward to: Leaked internal documents previously indicated that Intel aims to release its sophomore dedicated GPU lineup in 2024, including its first enthusiast-class cards. As the company launches its latest CPU series in Japan, a new official roadmap contains the clearest confirmation of its Battlemage release plans.
A presentation slide outlining Intel's latest roadmap shows that the company has slated its upcoming Arc Battlemage GPUs for release sometime in 2024, validating prior leaks and rumors. Next year, Intel's second generation of mainstream GPUs and first-ever enthusiast cards might compete with AMD's RDNA 4 lineup and possibly Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5000.
Intel's presentation to mark the Japanese launch of the Meteor Lake CPUs focuses primarily on the company's AI-related ambitions. However, one slide contains a section for GPUs on the bottom right labeled "upcoming products" for 2024, featuring an image of a Battlemage graphics chip, marking the first time Intel has publicly indicated the new dedicated GPUs would launch next year.
Another company that recently acknowledged upcoming Intel graphics cards is HWiNFO. The latest version of its diagnostic software includes preliminary support for Battlemage and its successor, Celestial. Furthermore, it lays the groundwork for Panther Lake and Nova Lake integrated GPUs.
Leaks from throughout 2023 put Battlemage on the company's 2024 roadmap and listed a range of improvements over Intel's inaugural Alchemist series. Based on Xe2 HPG architecture and TSMC's 4nm process node, Battlemage will feature improved ray tracing performance, updated DeepLink capabilities, and new machine learning technology. The machine learning could include ExtraSS – the AI frame generation technique Intel recently outlined.
Alchemist cards suffered a troubled launch in 2022, as Intel struggled to ship the GPUs in previously confirmed timeframes, and its drivers fared poorly with DirectX 11 and DirectX 9 games. Numerous software updates have since dramatically improved performance, but Intel has barely cut into AMD's graphics AIB market share.
Moreover, while Alchemist only contained entry-level and mid-range products, the company confirmed that Battlemage will also attempt to compete in the enthusiast ring. If the lineup launches in 2024, it will go up against AMD's RDNA 4 series – which, ironically, might only comprise mainstream products – and Nvidia's refreshed RTX 4000 Super cards. Team Green's upcoming RTX 5000 could also reach the market next year but may slip into 2025.
Intel's presentation also covered how the company migrated Meteor Lake integrated GPUs to the Xe architecture featured in Alchemist. The company says the results compare favorably to AMD's Zen 4 iGPUs, and Meteor Lake can use ML-based upscaling to improve performance further.