Microsoft is expanding its Advanced Shader Delivery technology across Windows 11, with Gears of War: E Day becoming the first game to support the feature across a broad range of AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, and Qualcomm hardware.
Advanced Shader Delivery, or ASD, is designed to reduce one of the more frustrating problems in modern PC gaming: long shader compilation times and the stutter that can appear when shaders are compiled during gameplay.
Instead of forcing the player's CPU to compile large numbers of shaders during the first launch, ASD allows precompiled shaders to be delivered with the game.
Microsoft says this can reduce first launch compilation times in Gears of War: E Day by around 95 percent, taking the process from several minutes down to only a few seconds in supported configurations.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 11 24H2 or newer |
| First supported game | Gears of War: E Day |
| AMD support | RDNA 1, RDNA 2, RDNA 3, RDNA 3.5, RDNA 4 |
| AMD driver | Adrenalin 26.6.1 or newer |
| Qualcomm | Snapdragon X2 devices |
| NVIDIA support | All RTX GPUs later this month |
| Intel support | Arc B570, B580, Core Ultra Series 2 and 3 iGPUs later this month |
| Required store app | Xbox PC app |
| Future confirmed game | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 |
Advanced Shader Delivery moves compilation away from the CPU
Shader compilation has become increasingly visible in modern PC games.
Many titles compile shaders during their first launch, which can leave players waiting several minutes before reaching the game itself.
Other games compile shaders while running, potentially creating frame time spikes or visible stutter.
ASD takes a different approach.
Microsoft can distribute precompiled Pipeline State Objects and shaders with the game download, reducing the amount of work that must be performed locally.
In Gears of War: E Day, Microsoft says the difference is substantial.
A typical system without ASD may spend several minutes compiling shaders during first launch.
With ASD active, Microsoft says the same process can be reduced to only a few seconds.
That represents an estimated reduction of around 95 percent.
AMD hardware is already supported
The initial implementation supports several generations of AMD graphics hardware.
Compatible architectures include RDNA 1, RDNA 2, RDNA 3, RDNA 3.5, and RDNA 4.
Players need Adrenalin 26.6.1 or newer.
That gives the technology coverage across a broad range of Radeon GPUs, including multiple generations of desktop and integrated graphics hardware.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 systems are also supported.
NVIDIA and Intel support arrives later this month
Microsoft plans to widen hardware support significantly later this month.
All NVIDIA RTX graphics cards are expected to gain support, including RTX Spark.
Intel support will cover the Arc B570 and B580 graphics cards, along with integrated graphics found in Core Ultra Series 2 and Series 3 processors.
Once those additions arrive, ASD will cover a much larger share of modern Windows 11 gaming PCs.
The supplied material does not give an exact rollout date within the month.
Xbox PC app is currently required
For Gears of War: E Day, players need to install the game through the Xbox PC app to use Advanced Shader Delivery.
When the feature is functioning correctly, the game's launch window should display a message reading "Precompiled shaders installed."
That message confirms that the required shader package has been downloaded and installed.
The current implementation therefore appears tied to Microsoft's own distribution platform.
The supplied material does not confirm whether the same system will be available through Steam or other PC storefronts.
Lower shader stutter could matter more than faster first launch
The shorter first launch time is the most obvious benefit, but reduced shader stutter may be more important during actual gameplay.
When shaders are compiled at runtime, the process can temporarily interrupt smooth frame delivery.
That can cause short freezes or frame pacing problems even on otherwise powerful hardware.
By preparing shaders in advance, ASD is intended to reduce those interruptions.
The technology could therefore improve both setup time and consistency during gameplay.
Modern Warfare 4 will also support ASD
Gears of War: E Day will not remain the only supported title.
Microsoft has already confirmed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 will also use Advanced Shader Delivery.
Additional games are planned as well, although no further titles were named in the supplied material.
The wider impact will depend on how broadly publishers adopt the system and whether support eventually extends beyond the Xbox PC app.
If that happens, Advanced Shader Delivery could become a wider Windows 11 solution for shader compilation delays and runtime stutter rather than a feature limited to a small number of Microsoft distributed games.
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