Intel Fellow Tom Petersen has revealed that the company's next-generation Xe3 "Celestial" graphics processing unit (GPU) architecture has completed its hardware development phase, with teams now focusing on software optimization.
During an appearance on The Full Nerd Podcast, Petersen confirmed that while Intel is currently launching its Arc Battlemage GPUs with Xe2 architecture, the hardware portion of the future Xe3 platform is already finalized.
"Our IP called Xe3, which is the one after Xe2, that's pretty much baked," Petersen stated. "The software teams have a lot of work to do on Xe3, while the hardware teams are off on the next thing."
This development timeline suggests Intel is maintaining its planned GPU roadmap, despite earlier speculation about the future of its discrete graphics program. The hardware team has reportedly moved on to developing the subsequent architecture codenamed "Druid" (Xe4).
The Xe3 architecture is expected to power Intel's upcoming Panther Lake mobile processors, succeeding the current Lunar Lake chips. Early indicators point to increased graphics capabilities, with Xe core counts potentially rising from 8 to 12 cores.
While desktop implementations of Xe3 remain unconfirmed, Intel's original roadmap positioned Celestial GPUs in the "Ultra Enthusiast" performance category, suggesting high-end discrete graphics cards may be planned.
In the immediate term, Intel is preparing to release its Arc B580 GPU in December, followed by the B570 in January. These mid-range offerings are positioned as value-oriented options in the current graphics card market.
The news of Xe3's completion comes as Intel works to establish itself in the discrete GPU space, competing with established players AMD and NVIDIA. The company's commitment to multiple generations of graphics architecture indicates a long-term strategy in this market segment.