End clap for graphics cards at Intel? The giant would have other priorities

In a recent conference call with Wall Street investors, Pat Gelsinger explained that Intel's focus would increasingly be on what he called ” large integrated graphics capabilities “. In other words, graphics solutions integrated into processors, rather than true dedicated graphics cards for gaming.

This statement hardly bodes well for Intel's Arc graphics card roadmap, which was to include the Battlemage generation, succeeding the first Arc Alchemist GPUs. We then expected to see Celestial and Druide disembark, but all of them may ultimately never see the light of day.

Has Intel abandoned its graphics cards?

Certainly, “ less need » does not necessarily mean “ no need at all “. But in the context of the numerous difficulties encountered by Intel, and the significant job cuts underway, these comments sound like a bad omen. It is in fact hard to imagine Intel remaining fully committed to this roadmap multi-year of discrete gaming graphics cards.

Rumors had been circulating for some time about Intel's faltering commitment to its Arc line. But it is also possible that this loss of confidence is much more recent.

It is also interesting to note that these “ big » integrated graphics chips could be something interesting in itself. An integrated GPU delivering performance equivalent to a mid-range discrete graphics card would indeed be a notable step forward. It remains to be seen what Gelsinger actually means by “great” abilities.

Regardless, our best guess is that we'll likely still see Battlemage-based graphics cards early in the new year. The majority of the investments needed to bring them to market have arguably already been made. Intel might even have a stockpile of GPUs ready to go into these cards.

But beyond? The possibility that Celestial will be saved even if Battlemage is a real success with players is slim. These statements from the CEO really do not bode well for the future of Intel's Arc graphics cards.