Microsoft's new Advanced Shader Delivery game tech uses the cloud to reduce friction

Microsoft is going all-in on handhelds, including some pretty big optimizations in how games are delivered via DirectX.

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One of the most annoying things about modern gaming is having to wait. Users already have to wait for their games to download, and gamers playing on an ROG Ally, Legion Go, or Steam Deck often have to wait extra time for the game to do something called "compiling shaders." This is a maddening phrase that's caused a lot of enmity and confusion among average consumers who just paid a lot of money for a device and a game, and simply just want to play.

Microsoft knows about this high level of friction, and has a solution: Advanced Shader Delivery. This was made specifically for handhelds like the new ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. Essentially, Microsoft is rolling out tech that will eliminate the dreaded compiling shaders wait times. Instead, Microsoft will use its new shader delivery to pre-configure game files ahead of time.

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"To put it simply, we worked with our partners to take an expensive workload and move it from each gaming device into the cloud instead, to be distributed at download time," Microsoft says on its DirectX blog.

So...how does it work? Advanced Shader Delivery separates the shaders, puts them in the cloud, and then when it comes time to download the game, the shaders are delivered alongside the other game files so end users have a complete package.

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• The DirectX team has created a method to collect the shader data from any given game and package it up in a new standardized format, called a State Object Database (SODB).
• We have worked with our key hardware partners to separate out the shader compiler from the graphics driver and unite the game data in the SODB with the compiler in the cloud to create a Precompiled Shader Database (PSDB).

"As an example, in Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed, our engineering teams observed launch times reduced by as much as 85%. This not only means you're playing your game faster, but your battery life is spent on playtime, not compiling."

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Microsoft will roll out a new SDK next month, and explains more technical details on the road ahead for Advanced Shader Delivery:

"Our initial launch of advanced shader delivery requires no work from game studios to integrate.

"As we expand support across more games and devices, we will collaborate with game developers to integrate the capability directly into game engines - ensuring games can take advantage of advanced shader delivery on launch day.

"While we're currently focused on supporting the launch of the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X, we're excited to share that we're releasing an AgilitySDK in September. This will provide both developers and gaming storefronts with the initial set of tools and APIs needed to expand this functionality across the industry. At that time, we will also provide more details on how developers can engage with this feature for in-market titles.

"We're also continuing to collaborate with our hardware partners to grow the number of devices that will be able to support advanced shader delivery. Stay tuned for more details on device expansion in September."