Microsoft's new technology will significantly accelerate game downloads

Tom’s Hardware editors tested a new technology called Advanced Shader Delivery, developed by Microsoft, as reported by Zamin.uz.

This technology reduces game loading times by pre-compiling shaders—programs responsible for rendering graphics. Early results show it can make games load several times faster, and in some cases up to twenty times quicker.

Currently in testing, it supports only AMD Radeon graphics cards based on the RDNA 3 architecture or newer, and works only with a limited number of games downloaded from the Xbox Store.

Tests were conducted on a system with a Radeon RX 9070 XT across six modern games. In two of them, shader compilation was not observed, and loading times remained unchanged.

In the remaining four, loading times decreased by 56% to 96%. For example, Forza Horizon 6 loaded in just two seconds instead of the previous forty-eight seconds, indicating a twenty-fourfold speedup.

The new technology not only improves loading speed but also enhances gameplay stability. While average frame rates saw a slight increase, the lowest frame rates showed significant improvement.

Specifically, as mentioned earlier, this metric rose from fifty-four to seventy-two frames per second, helping reduce unexpected stutters and hiccups during gameplay.

In conclusion, Microsoft’s solution proves highly effective in saving users’ time. Wider release to the general public and expansion to other devices are expected in the future.

It’s also worth noting that Intel is actively developing similar technology. In the future, such systems may become a standard across all graphics cards and games.