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15h ago

Nvidia Driver Brings Microsoft's Cloud Shader Precompilation to PCs

The update lets Microsoft precompile game shaders in the cloud so Windows 11 PCs can skip most just-in-time shader builds and reduce mid-game stutter.

Video game artwork of armored soldiers fighting amid wreckage and smoke, with one soldier leaping through the air.
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Overview

  • Nvidia's GeForce 621.01 driver, released on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, adds support for Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery to enable cloud-based precompiled shaders for supported games.
  • Microsoft's system uses a developer-captured State Object Database and the Agility SDK to let the Microsoft cloud compile shaders for many GPU and driver combinations, which Windows can then download as ready-to-run shader databases.
  • Nvidia and Microsoft say the system can reach near-100 percent shader-cache hit rates that remove most just-in-time shader compilation, cutting CPU spikes and frame hitches during play for supported titles.
  • Initial games listed as supported are Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day when those games are installed via the Xbox PC app, and vendors say the feature also works on AMD (Adrenalin 26.6.1+) and Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 (driver 2026.08.3+) hardware.
  • The system requires developers and storefronts to opt in and does not fix other causes of stutter such as asset streaming, traversal stutter, CPU bottlenecks, or poor optimization, though wider adoption could push studios to precompile shaders more routinely.