Intel’s 1st Gen Xe-HPG graphics cards are yet to launch, and the company is already planning the next three generations of its GPUs for gamers. The first generation of the Arc graphics cards, codenamed “Alchemist” is slated to land in the first half of 2022 (just a few months before NVIDIA and AMD’s next-generation lineups). Intel ARC Community Advocate Bryce indicated this in a Tweet the other day.
According to Bryce, the fourth generation of Intel’s Arc graphics cards codenamed “Druid” could launch in 2025 alongside the NVIDIA RTX 60 series lineup. If the fourth-gen Druid cards are landing in 2025, the 2nd Gen Battlemage lineup should arrive in 2023, followed by Celestial in 2024 (and Druid in 2025). If Intel can keep this one-year cadence up till 2025, it’ll put some serious pressure on AMD and NVIDIA.
Considering the scale of Intel’s R&D and spending, and the fact that TSMC or Samsung will be fabbing the Arc lineup, this isn’t really a far-fetched roadmap. Both NVIDIA and AMD launch a new generation every two years, with a refresh in between. If each new generation of Xe Arc graphics cards provides a generational leap in performance, Intel shouldn’t have much trouble capturing a notable market share by 2025. Depending on how the semiconductor shortages affect the industry in the coming years, the chipmaker may have an easier or harder time navigating the ever-dynamic PC gaming market.
