An Intel Exec has been quoted as saying that its GPUs are still important to the company, but doubts remain about its discrete consumer division. It can be said that context is everything, and new comments about the current plans for Intel’s gaming graphics cards may not mean what they seem. As reported by Tweakers (via VideoCardz), Intel Client Computing Group general Manager Alex Katouzian attended a Q&A event in Taiwan where he stated that GPUs remain “super important” to the company. He added that Intel is seeing good traction with its GPU cores, but this statement is in reference to Intel’s upcoming mobile gaming tech (something we’ll have more on later) and not new gaming cards.
“At the moment, the traction of our GPU cores is really very good,” the executive continues. “Gamers and game engine developers are all working with us. You have seen the examples we showed on stage today: that is just the beginning. I think we are simply going to continue on this path.”
– Alex Katouzian, Intel Client Computing Group general Manager
It should be noted that Intel has been a major supplier of GPUs for many, many years. The differentiating point is that it has done so as an integrated GPU manufacturer and not a discrete graphics manufacturer. That changed in 2022 when its Arc division expanded with the launch of its first consumer line of Alchemist graphics cards. A second generation succeeded it with the Battlmage in 2024 (we have reviews of the A770 and B580 here, which showed impressive performance value for the budget-minded gamer), but while rumors began to widely circulate that a Big Battlemage B770 would debut at CES 2026, it never came to be. More recently, a productivity-designed version of that card was launched, and even though its drivers support gaming its has purposely been designed for professional use and not gaming.
All this being said, it’s now been two years since a new consumer gaming card was launched, and rumors are hinting that Intel has abandoned its consumer Celestial and Druid cards. However, it’s not all doom and gloom as Panther Lake made an impressive debut at CES with its integrated graphics performing well at 1080p with modern titles. Meanwhile, Intel is continuing to focus its technologies on the mobile and gaming handheld sectors, where it faces competition from AMD with its APUs and now NVIDIA with its RTX Spark. Katouzian does seem to have confidence that Intel is still in the game when it comes to desktop solutions, so who knows, there could still be other surprises on the horizon.
“GPUs are a super important part of our PC product range,” said Intel executive Alex Katouzian after Tweakers asked about the future of the Arc desktop graphics cards. “If you look at gaming, both mobile and on PC, huge revenues are generated there. We want to ensure that we play a significant role in that.”
– Alex Katouzian, Intel Client Computing Group general Manager