Intel hasn’t had it easy in the past few months. The whole fiasco with instability in its 13th and 14th-gen processors, followed by a lukewarm Arrow Lake launch has put them on the back foot. While AMD is thriving with the 9800X3D release hitting, some more news from the blue corner has emerged and it has to do with Battlemage, the second generation of Intel Arc graphics cards.

So, stepping away from CPUs for a second now, the Intel Arc Battlemage release date was previously said to launch before Black Friday this year. That date is rapidly approaching and now a new leak points towards a launch next month (in December) shortly after the BF period. However, it seems like Intel is slowing down its discrete GPU plans moving forward.

Intel Arc Battlemage is expected to be unveiled next month

According to a November 7th post on Weibo, we can look forward to Battlemage “next month” with “wonderful performance” expected. This information comes from a renowned leaker who goes by the name ‘Golden Pig Upgrade’ and suggests we’re getting the next-gen Arc GPUs ahead of CES 2025, which is when rivals AMD and Nvidia are expected to unveil the RX 8000 and RTX 50 series, respectively – though another recent rumor suggests Nvidia may debut RTX 50 “soon,” which is a little vague for our liking. In any case, the coming months could decide a lot, including Intel’s dGPU future.

The future of discrete Intel GPUs is uncertain

Shortly before this new leak came through, we noticed that Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, said he sees “less need for discrete graphics” in an earnings call for Q3 2024. While this doesn’t exactly suggest Intel is calling it quits on dedicated GPUs like the Arc range, it doesn’t paint a bright picture going forward. The first generation of these graphics cards, codenamed Alchemist, failed to impact the market in a big way, though we were fairly impressed by the flagship (yet budget-friendly) Arc A770 when we reviewed it.

Intel’s apparent deprioritization of its Arc GPUs is a worrying sign and will only further restrict consumers’ options. Either way, Battlemage is indeed coming and we shouldn’t have to wait too long to see what Team Blue delivers the second time round. Both AMD and Intel will be targeting entry-level and mid-range cards this generation, which could lead Nvidia to develop even more of a monopoly at the top. On the bright side, we believe AMD just needs a better version of the RTX 5070 to compete and we’re excited to see if Intel can get anywhere close.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.