A new Intel Arc and Iris Xe driver has been released providing support for several new game launches as well as improvements for other games. The Intel Arc and Iris Xe driver (31.0.101.5194 / 31.0.101.5252) provides support for Helldivers 2, Banishers: Ghost of New Eden, and Skull & Bones. Game performance improvements include Palworld (up to 5% at 1080p on Epic settings) and SnowRunner (up to 71% at 1080p on Ultra settings). Fixes are included for Arcade Paradise (DX11), Ghostrunner 2 (DX12), and Starfield (DX12). This new driver can be downloaded here. Intel has noted in its release notes that the increased driver install size (essentially 1 GB) is temporary and due to the combined Intel Core Ultra with Intel Arc Graphics and Intel Graphics drivers.
Release notes (per Intel):
GAMING HIGHLIGHTS:
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:
- Helldivers 2*
- Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden*
- Skull & Bones*
Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Core™ Ultra with Intel® Arc™ Graphics for:
- Helldivers 2*
- Skull & Bones*
Game performance improvements on Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products versus Intel® 31.0.101.5186 software driver for:
- Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden* (DX12), Up to 4% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Very High settings
- Palworld* (DX11), Up to 5% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Epic settings
- Snowrunner* (DX11), Up to 71% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra settings
FIXED ISSUES:
Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products:
- Starfield* (DX12) may experience an intermittent application crash while launching the game.
- Palworld* (DX11) may experience an intermittent crash during extended gameplay sessions.
- Dead by Daylight* (DX11) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
- Topaz Video AI* may experience errors when using some models for video enhancement.
Intel® Core™ Ultra with Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:
- Diablo 4* (DX12) may exhibit corruption on the terrain during gameplay.
- Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection* (DX12) may experience application crash after loading into gameplay.
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III* (DX12) may experience an application crash after loading into gameplay on
certain maps. - Call of Duty Warzone 2.0* (DX12) may exhibit corruption in game menu and during gameplay.
- Autodesk Maya* may experience an application crash while running SPECAPC* benchmark.
- Blender* may experience an application crash while rendering some scenes on certain system memory
configurations. - Topaz Video AI* may experience errors when using some models for video enhancement.
- Serif Affinity Photo 2* may experience application crash while running benchmark.
Intel® Iris™ Xe MAX Graphics Products:
- Driver installation may not complete successfully on certain notebook systems with both Intel® Iris™ Xe + Iris™ Xe MAX devices. A system reboot and re-installation of the graphics driver may be required for successful installation.
Intel® Core™ Processor (12th-14th Generation) Products:
- Dragon Quest X Online* (DX9) may experience sporadic application crash during gameplay.
INTEL® ARC™ CONTROL KNOWN ISSUES:
- Using Arc Control Studio capture with certain games may incorrectly generate multiple video files.
- The “Connector” type in the Display page may incorrectly show DP* when using an HDMI* display connection.
- Arc Control Studio capture recording file may become corrupted when the mouse cursor is enabled during HDR capture.
- Camera preview may turn off after the system goes into connected standby mode.
Intel® Arc™ Control Performance Tuning (BETA):
- Intel® Arc™ Control Performance Tuning is currently in Beta. As such, performance and features may behave unexpectedly. Intel® will continue to refine the Performance Tuning software in future releases.