Microsoft has announced an expansion of its Advanced Shader Delivery preview program, bringing the feature to a wider range of Windows 11 gaming PCs powered by AMD hardware. The technology, originally introduced for the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds last year, is designed to reduce shader compilation stutter and dramatically improve game loading times.
According to Microsoft, Advanced Shader Delivery works by delivering precompiled shaders during the game download process, avoiding the need for shader compilation during gameplay. The company says this can reduce loading times by as much as 90% while also minimizing shader-related stuttering that commonly affects PC games during first launches.
The latest expansion adds support for Windows 11 systems using AMD discrete GPUs and integrated graphics found in gaming laptops. Players interested in testing the feature can access the public preview through the Xbox Insider program.
Microsoft is using Forza Horizon 6 as one of the first major showcases for the technology on desktop PCs. The company claims the racing game can load in approximately four seconds with Advanced Shader Delivery enabled, compared to nearly 90 seconds without it. The benchmark was recorded using an AMD Radeon RX 7600 graphics card paired with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800 processor.
Beyond shorter load times, Microsoft says the feature also reduces shader stutter during gameplay by bypassing just-in-time shader compilation. When functioning correctly, players will see a “Precompiled shaders installed” message in the game’s launch window.
To use Advanced Shader Delivery during the preview period, players must meet several hardware and software requirements. Systems must be running Windows 11 version 24H2 or later, along with updated Xbox Gaming Services and enrollment in the Xbox Insider Hub’s PC Gaming Preview. Supported GPUs currently include AMD RDNA 3, RDNA 3.5, and RDNA 4 architectures running Adrenalin 26.5.2 drivers or newer.
Microsoft also used the announcement to encourage developers to adopt the technology for their own projects. The company stated that developers can integrate Advanced Shader Delivery support using the latest AgilitySDK and upload shader databases through Xbox Partner Center.
Looking ahead, Microsoft confirmed plans to expand Advanced Shader Delivery support to additional Windows hardware and other GPU vendors over the coming months.
