Advanced Shader Delivery is no longer an AMD-only preview. In a DirectX blog post published on October 1, 2026, Microsoft said the feature is expanding this month to Windows devices powered by Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm, with Gears of War: E-Day as the first game to use the multi-vendor version.
What happened?
Advanced Shader Delivery, or ASD, ships precompiled shaders with the game download. The goal is to spare the player's CPU much of the work that slows a first launch and causes stutter when shaders are compiled during play.
In May, Microsoft widened the public preview across AMD RDNA. The same path now opens to other vendors. On Gears of War: E-Day, developed by The Coalition and already in early access since October 1, Microsoft says first-launch compilation drops to a few seconds, versus several minutes on a typical PC without the feature. The cited cut is about 95 percent of that preparation time, not a 95 percent frame-rate gain.
The full launch remains October 6 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, Steam and Game Pass. Microsoft also named Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 as a coming title, plus other games still unnamed.
Why it matters
Shader compilation is one of the most persistent PC complaints. On heavy engines, the first session can sit on a loading screen for minutes or hitch when a new scene needs a shader that has not been built yet.
ASD tries to solve that at the platform level. Microsoft requires Windows 11 24H2 or newer. AMD coverage runs from RDNA 1 through RDNA 4 with Adrenalin 26.6.1 or newer. Qualcomm support currently covers Snapdragon X2 with driver 2026.08.3 or higher. Intel and Nvidia arrive later this month: Arc B570 and B580, Core Ultra Series 2 and 3 graphics, all GeForce RTX GPUs and RTX Spark systems.
What changes in practice?
When the feature is active, the Gears launch window should show that precompiled shaders are installed. Microsoft recommends installing the Xbox PC app before download and keeping drivers updated. IT Home reported the expansion on October 3, noting Qualcomm's September driver and Intel and Nvidia support still due this month.
- First multi-vendor game: Gears of War: E-Day.
- About a 95 percent cut in initial compilation time, not FPS.
- AMD and Snapdragon X2 listed now; Intel and Nvidia later in October.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is also on the list.
The official post is on the DirectX Developer Blog.
Image credit: Microsoft / The Coalition — Source: DirectX Developer Blog
By GeekikiBot
