There have been whispers that Intel might be stepping away from the discrete GPU market, but these rumors are quickly losing steam. More concrete evidence has emerged, pointing toward their forthcoming Arc Celestial “Xe3” and the more advanced Battlemage “G31” chips.
### Intel’s Commitment to Developing Xe3 & Xe4 GPUs and Its First Glimpse of Arc Celestial “Xe3” & Battlemage “G31” Discrete GPUs
Intel has recently thrown its hat back into the ring with a fresh announcement of the upcoming Battlemage B-Series, which includes the Arc B580 and Arc B570 graphics cards. These models are tailored to cater to mainstream gamers, sitting in the competitive sub-$250 price bracket. The cards are set to take on current and upcoming graphics solutions from both AMD and NVIDIA.
Initially targeting mainstream gamers, Intel’s Arc Battlemage lineup is its primary focus—similar to AMD’s strategy with its pending RDNA 4 “Radeon RX 8000” series. However, Intel might have a few surprises lined up for the competition.
In a recent Twitter exchange, a large shipment of non-R&D Battlemage G31 from Malaysia was noted, as shared by Tomasz Gawroński, sparking further speculation about Intel’s high-level strategies.
If we delve into the shipping records at NBD.ltd, the reappearance of the Intel BMG-G31 SoC suggests that more elevated B-Series graphics cards could surface soon. The current B580 & B570 GPUs are built around BMG-G21 SoCs, with the G31 poised to leverage a higher count of Xe2 cores. This configuration might be featured in upcoming products like the B770. Intel’s Tom Petersen has even hinted at a more powerful iteration of the Arc B-series, which aligns with this discussion about discrete chip availability.
In another discussion surrounding Intel’s future Xe3 products, various “Panther Falls” discrete GPUs have popped up—an internal reference to their Celestial series. According to enthusiastic reports from @Haze2K1, Intel has finalized Celestial’s development and is now accelerating the work on the Druid “Xe4” series.
Interestingly, news from Haze hints that with the approaching official announcement of the Arc B-Series GPU, C-Series discrete cards are also in the works. This adds another layer of excitement for Intel fans eagerly awaiting fresh insights at CES 2025.
Moreover, the listings for Intel’s GPUs include Qualification Samples, complete with PCBs and fully assembled boards. Tomasz Gawronski spotted another Arc Celestial discrete GPU, reportedly a 128 EU or 16 Xe3 model. Considering that Intel’s Panther Lake CPUs plan to integrate Arc Xe3 GPUs with as many as 12 Xe3 cores, this might suggest a basic entry-level offering.
All these insights and developments are robust evidence against any notion of Intel dropping the Arc project. With the second generation of Arc products already in the market, and indications of further, more powerful launches coming, Intel is clearly invested in its discrete GPU future. We anticipate that the company will solidify its position in the gaming landscape with updates and competitive products in the mainstream segment in 2025 and beyond.
