Intel already has “almost ready” Xe3 graphics, although the first Xe2 video cards came out only yesterday

Distinguished Intel researcher Tom Petersen, who actually became the face of the company’s graphics direction, took part in The Full Nerd podcast, where he talked about the launch of a new series of Battlemage desktop video cards based on the Xe2 architecture. The series currently includes only two accelerator models – Arc B580 and Arc B570. Without going into details, Petersen did not rule out the possibility of even faster graphics based on the Xe2 architecture in the future.

Image source: VideoCardz

The company is currently focused on the upcoming launch of sales of the first model in the Battlemage series, the Arc B580, which will be available on December 13th. The younger model Arc B570 will go on sale on January 16, 2025.

More broadly, Petersen made it clear that Intel does not intend to curtail the development of the Arc Graphics direction. According to him, the company has almost completed the development of the Xe3 architecture and has already begun work on its successor. He noted that Xe3 is in the final stages of development – it is currently being tested by Intel’s software teams, while hardware engineers are focused on the next generation of graphics architecture.

«I would like to announce that our next development is called Xe3. It will replace Xe2. And, yes, that’s right, it’s almost finished. Now the software teams have a lot of work to do on Xe3. And the hardware teams need to move on to the next project. This is our rhythm of work, and we have to follow it,” Tom Petersen said during The Full Nerd podcast.

Of course, Petersen has simplified the current state of affairs somewhat, since the software and hardware teams still have a lot of work to do to eliminate possible bugs in the Xe2 and Xe3 architectures, respectively, after the release of the Battlemage series of video cards and the start of production of Xe3-based chips. However, the main conclusion is that Intel does not intend to slow down and will continue to develop its video card production line.

During the podcast, Petersen recalled that new Intel graphics cards are launched at intervals of more than one year. Considering the planned release of the first video card in the Battlemage series in December, the first solutions based on Xe3 should be expected no earlier than 2026.

Image Source: Intel

Even before the release of the first generation of Arc graphics (Alchemist on the Xe architecture), Intel announced large-scale plans for the development of its graphics direction. The company said that in the future it will release Arc Battlemage (Xe2) graphics, then Arc Celestial (Xe3) and Arc Druid (presumably Xe4). Intel also promised to enter the “ultra-enthusiast” segment of video cards (the most powerful gaming solutions), but the Battlemage series does not yet even reach the “enthusiast” segment, being a step lower. At best, the Arc B580 will be able to offer slightly better performance than Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060.