In recent weeks, Nvidia's upcoming top-tier graphics cards have dominated the news. However, all has been quiet on Intel's next-generation offering—Arc Battlemage—until now. Fresh signs of life have surfaced, with Intel quietly adding Battlemage graphics cards to its newest media drivers.
Intel includes Battlemage in the latest driver update
Intel's latest round of drivers on GitHub, spotted by VideoCardz, includes a key update. The driver mentions “BMG,” the abbreviation for Battlemage, hinting at the company's ongoing work on its next-generation graphics cards. This update explicitly adds support for Battlemage in the open-source media driver for the Video Acceleration API (VAAPI), which is used for video encoding and decoding with various codecs.
At the moment, the update looks barebones. Intel still needs to include encoding support for Battlemage, leaving this function in the current driver. While this might seem like a gap, it's still early in development. Given that initial leaks hinted at a late 2024 release, it's evident that this timeline has shifted. Intel has plenty of time to develop these drivers further, adding support for essential features before the cards hit the market.
Decoding gives a glimpse of Battlemage's future
Without encoding functionality, we must look at the driver's decoding capabilities to understand what Intel's Battlemage could bring. Interestingly, the current release does not support versatile video coding (VVC) or H.266. This omission raises eyebrows because Intel's Lunar Lake processors support H.266, and the company has managed to leap ahead of Nvidia and AMD in this area.
However, there's no need to panic just yet. Intel may still introduce support for H.266 in future updates, as this codec is highly efficient and could offer significant advantages in video encoding and decoding. Given the early stage of development, it's likely that additional codecs and functionalities will be introduced as Intel continues to work on the Battlemage drivers.
Intel is still quiet on release, but momentum builds
Despite Intel's ongoing silence about Battlemage, recent leaks suggest that progress is being made behind the scenes. One of the most significant leaks involved a benchmark test, potentially showcasing Intel's first next-generation discrete GPU. This limited glimpse suggests that Battlemage is actively being developed, even as Intel struggles with its shrinking GPU market share.
With Nvidia and AMD holding strong positions, Intel could use a successful launch to boost its share. The last official word on Battlemage came in January 2024 from Tom Petersen, an Intel fellow, during an interview. He hoped that more information might be shared before CES 2025, though he stopped short of making any promises. Given this, the current lack of major updates is only partially surprising.
While the details remain thin, Intel's inclusion of Battlemage in the latest driver update shows progress. It may be a while before these graphics cards are fully revealed, but the signs suggest that Intel is gearing up for a competitive launch in the near future.
