We have received confirmation that Intel is progressing with the development of Arc gaming GPUs beyond the current Xe2 "Battlemage" series, with the upcoming Xe3 "Celestial" architecture in the pipeline. During PCWorld's The Full Nerd podcast, Tom Petersen from Intel revealed that the Xe3 IP has been finalized, and the hardware teams are already focusing on the subsequent Xe4 "Druid" GPU IP. Petersen mentioned, "Our architects are well ahead in their planning, already working on the future beyond the next iteration." He further explained, "The IP for Xe3, which comes after Xe2, is essentially ready. The software teams have a significant amount of work ahead for Xe3, while the hardware teams are already moving on to the next project. This is our established rhythm that we must maintain."
The foundational IP for the upcoming Xe3 "Celestial" GPUs has been completed. This includes the core media engines, Xe cores, XMX matrix engines, ray tracing engines, and other essential components of the gaming GPU, which are likely awaiting testing in fabrication. Simultaneously, software development is underway to support Xe3, alongside efforts to enhance optimizations for the existing Xe2 "Battlemage" architecture, as recently previewed. It is anticipated that Intel's Xe GPU releases will adhere to a more structured schedule, with SKUs receiving updates at a faster pace, given the extensive groundwork laid out for the future.
