Intel explains why making GPU drivers is so hard but isn't giving up

Graphics drivers are hard. This isn't news. But Intel has revealed some interesting details regarding its own efforts and struggles to get Arc GPUs running really fast. Intel's candour also makes us hopeful for its next-gen Battlemage graphics, hopefully appearing later this year. It isn't giving up.

While the complexity of graphics drivers and optimising GPU performance is a well-established thing, it's also tempting to be exasperated with Intel and its Arc graphics cards.

Sure, graphics drivers aren't easy. But, Intel knew that going in. So, surely it put in all the work necessary to do the job properly before it launched those first Arc graphics cards in 2022? 

In practice, Arc GPUs launched with frame rates all over the place and Intel has been catching up ever since. Lots of really impressive progress has since been made and Arc GPUs are now at the point where performance in any given game is likely to be well optimised. But exceptions remain and Intel has been explaining why.

Responding to a recent Gamer's Nexus revisit of Intel Arc performance, Intel provided insight into exactly why some games still aren't running as fast as you'd expect from the hardware specs. By way of example, Starfield still runs like crap on Arc GPUs and Intel says it remains in regular communication with developer Bethesda.

Intel explains that it's a particularly challenging title, partly because of how frequently the game has been updated. Of course, what with Starfield player numbers nosediving, you could argue nobody cares. But for any gamer considering an Arc GPU, seeing some titles conspicuously underperforming is pretty off-putting.

The most interesting example, however, is GTA 5. Another poorly performing title, Arc's performance in GTA 5 sees the top Intel Arc A770 GPU running at about half the frame rates you might expect based on the A770's performance and ranking in other games. The net result is that it falls behind AMD's feeble Radeon RX 6600 and the ancient Nvidia RTX