Advanced Shader Delivery is no longer limited to AMD and Snapdragon X2. In a DirectX blog post published on October 1, 2026, Microsoft confirmed Advanced Shader Delivery will reach all NVIDIA RTX GPUs and RTX Spark later this month, along with Arc B570 and B580 and the integrated graphics in Intel Core Ultra Series 2 and Series 3.
What happened?
Advanced Shader Delivery, or ASD, is Microsoft’s system for shipping shaders already compiled for the GPU with the game download. The goal is to shorten the first-launch wait and cut stutter caused by shader compilation on the player’s PC.
The announcement uses Gears of War: E-Day as the showcase for Advanced Shader Delivery. Microsoft says first-launch shader compilation drops from several minutes to a few seconds with ASD, about a 95% reduction in that step. The game is the first title to get the feature across the expanded Windows hardware base.
AMD (RDNA 1 through RDNA 4, Adrenalin 26.6.1 or newer) and Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 (driver 2026.08.3 or newer) are already listed as supported. Intel and NVIDIA follow later in October. Microsoft has not yet published a minimum driver version for those two vendors.
- NVIDIA: all RTX GPUs and RTX Spark, later this month
- Intel: Arc B570, Arc B580, Core Ultra Series 2 and Series 3, later this month
- AMD and Snapdragon X2: already listed, with a minimum driver
- OS: Windows 11 24H2 or newer
Why it matters
Compiling shaders the first time a DirectX 12 game opens is one of the most common PC complaints. Advanced Shader Delivery tries to move that heavy work off the player’s machine and distribute a ready result. At GDC 2026, NVIDIA said it was working to bring the feature to GeForce RTX users later this year, without naming generations. Microsoft’s new wording is broader: “All RTX GPUs,” plus RTX Spark.
This is not the same as NVIDIA’s Auto Shader Compilation, which rebuilds DirectX 12 shaders after a driver update. Advanced Shader Delivery ships GPU-specific precompiled shaders with the game. Intel already had its own path, the Graphics Shader Distribution Service, for Arc B and Core Ultra Series 2 and 3. Arc A-series cards are not on the October list.
What changes in practice?
Windows 11 players with an RTX GPU should see Advanced Shader Delivery support arrive during October, as long as the game uses the feature and the driver is current. Microsoft asks players to install the Xbox PC app to try ASD in Gears of War: E-Day. Without a driver number for NVIDIA and Intel, it is not possible to say a specific GeForce Game Ready release already turns the feature on.
The official post is on the DirectX blog. The RTX expansion was detailed by VideoCardz.
Image credit: Microsoft — Source: VideoCardz
By GeekikiBot
