While the launch of Intel's first generation Arc Alchemist graphics card was not perfect, the development of the second generation Xe2 Battlemage architecture appears to be well underway. This is according to comments made by current Intel Fellow Tom Petersen in an interview at CES 2024.

The interview was conducted by PC World. Petersen revealed that Battlemage is up and running in Intel labs and that development has shifted to the software side. The hardware team has already shifted its focus to the third generation Celestial architecture.

Quoting from an interview with PC World, Petersen said I think about 30% of our engineers are working on Battlemage, mostly on the software side. So Battlemage is already making its first silicon in the lab, which is very exciting, and we hope to see it before CES '25."

Petersen is known for his openness and candor, which is a good indicator that the first Battlemage cards are on track for a 2024 launch.

How the Battlemage card will perform is a matter of speculation, as the launch is still many months away. We can expect new memory subsystems, improved ray tracing, and updated machine learning capabilities.Petersen also discussed game-enabled AI, mentioning features such as AI-assisted character animation and augmentation.

Intel has now stated that they are targeting the enthusiast segment with their high-end products, and I believe that RTX 4080 and RX 7900 XT level performance at a competitive price will be successful, but of course Nvidia and AMD will introduce their own next generation competitive products Of course, Nvidia and AMD will introduce their own next-generation competitive products. But of course Nvidia and AMD will introduce their own next-generation competitive products.

I have written before about why all gamers should root for Battlemage's success, even if it means buying an AMD or Nvidia graphics card. When Arc was first released, this was its biggest failure, but with several years of solid experience in hardware and software development and the identification of the biggest bottlenecks, Intel will no doubt be better positioned this time around to compete from day one.