Earlier this week, Intel pushed an update for its “Game On” driver for Arc desktop and laptop graphics hardware to version 32.0.101.6793 — available to download directly from Intel.com.
It includes support for one gigantic PC release and another unreleased game that I admittedly had never heard of until today. First up, the phenomenal DOOM: The Dark Ages is ready for its May 15 release (or today, if you pay for the Premium Edition), followed by “Japanese Drift Master”, set for a May 21 drop to presumably excited arcade racing fanatics.
If you’re already running one of Intel’s current-gen Arc B-Series “Battlemage” desktop GPUs, like the affordable B570 or B580, and you were hoping for some follow-up patch notes for other titles, then you’re out of luck.
Besides the added launch day support for DOOM: The Dark Ages and Japanese Drift Master, there’s nothing else new for Intel Arc owners, even if you’re using last-gen Arc A-Series “Alchemist” cards or integrated graphics in Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) laptops and even Intel Arc-powered handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 AI+.
Yeah, bad news for the handful of lucky gamers who have been able to actually buy an MSI Claw; there aren’t any FPS-boosting patches in this GPU driver update.
Are you out there, Intel Arc fans?
It’s great to see Intel prepping its Arc GPUs so far ahead of schedule for the big release of DOOM: The Dark Ages, even if its mid-range Battlemage GPUs might have to stick to modest graphical settings at around 1440p. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited, but it’ll be interesting to see how well these more affordable GPUs can handle the rapid-fire action of the latest demonic FPS from id Software.
If its predecessors are anything to go by, then Intel Arc users could be in luck, because DOOM (2016) and DOOM: Eternal were pretty fantastically optimized for a broad range of PC gaming hardware, even running quite well on earlier handhelds like Valve’s Steam Deck.
I wish I could offer the same praise for the MSI Claw as the Steam Deck, but it feels like gold dust in the world of PC gaming handhelds, still listed as “coming soon” at Best Buy. I’m once again asking Intel to partner with at least more than one mainstream OEM for a handheld — especially if high-end discrete Arc GPUs aren’t happening any time soon.
Patch notes
Gaming Highlights
Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc B-series, A-series Graphics GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with built-in Intel Arc GPUs for:
- DOOM: The Dark Ages
- Japanese Drift Master
(No, seriously, that’s it.)
