Intel Battlemage rumored for December – could new budget GPUs win over gamers neglected by Nvidia and save the Arc brand?

Future of Intel's desktop graphics cards could be in the balance

News By Darren Allan published 8 November 2024

• Leaker claims Intel Battlemage desktop GPUs are arriving in December
• Previous rumors have suggested an early 2025 launch, though
• Intel may want to step up to get ahead of AMD and Nvidia’s CES launches

Intel could spring new budget GPUs on us in the form of the initial 2nd-generation Arc graphics cards, known as Battlemage, as soon as December.

VideoCardz picked up on a fresh rumor about the Battlemage range as aired by regular leaker Golden Pig Upgrade (or GPU – see what they did there?) on Weibo.

We’re told (via a translation) that Battlemage desktop graphics cards are coming next month, and that the leaker’s hope is that they’ll perform “brilliantly” no less. There could be something lost in translation there, perhaps, but very probably this is just a hope rather than a prediction.

It’s a hope we all share, of course, because the low-end of the graphics card market could really use pepping up.

If you’re familiar with the long-standing rumors around Battlemage, you’ll likely recall that the expectation is that Intel will only produce entry-level 2nd-gen Arc GPUs, and nothing above the budget space. Still, if these are killer budget GPUs – fingers crossed – or even just decent ones, they’ll be very welcome.

Analysis: Heading off AMD and Nvidia at the pass?

As ever, this is just a rumor, and it might come to nothing, but this nugget from the grapevine is backed up by other recent speculation. Previous spillage from Weibo has indicated a Battlemage launch before the end of 2024 (complete with a significant generational uplift, we should note), and Intel is already working on 3rd-gen Celestial graphics. Another rumor VideoCardz points out even suggests a November launch.

All that said, there’s been a consistent thread of rumors previously that the next-gen Arc graphics cards may not emerge until early 2025.

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