Science & Tech · Big Tech & Internet · 2 hrs ago
Nvidia Adds Advanced Shader Delivery to Its Graphics Drivers
Nvidia has added Advanced Shader Delivery to its version 621.01 graphics drivers.
The feature downloads precompiled shaders to cut the wait when a game first starts.
It is available for Nvidia RTX and RTX Spark graphics cards, and currently works with Gears of War: E-Day and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.
AMD graphics cards already supported the technology, and it can work across devices using AMD, Intel and Qualcomm hardware.
PCs have many possible hardware setups, so games often need to prepare shaders before they can run smoothly; this can mean a long wait after installation or a driver update.
The change could make starting PC games faster, though results may differ between systems.
Nvidia also has Automatic Shader Compilation to help prevent shaders from needing to be compiled again after driver updates.
Nvidia’s version 621.01 driver adds Advanced Shader Delivery support for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day.
The technology downloads precompiled shaders to reduce the time players wait for games to compile them.
The feature is available on Nvidia RTX graphics cards and requires supported games to be downloaded or updated through the Xbox PC app.
Journalist Sebastian Castellanos reported about 7–8 GB lower RAM usage in Gears of War: E-Day, while CPU usage remained relatively high.
- Who
- Nvidia added support for Advanced Shader Delivery for owners of supported Nvidia graphics cards.
- What
- Driver version 621.01 adds the feature for two games, reducing shader compilation waits by downloading precompiled shaders.
- When
- The drivers were released on October 21, 2026, according to GameSpot; PC Gamer reported the release on October 22.
- Where
- On Windows PCs, for supported games downloaded or updated through the Xbox PC app.
- Why
- To reduce the time and system work involved in compiling game shaders locally.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
GameSpot reported that Nvidia released version 621.01 drivers with Advanced Shader Delivery support.
PC Gamer reported support for the feature in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day.
- Driver
- Nvidia GeForce 621.01 WHQL
- Supported games
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4; Gears of War: E-Day
- Delivery method
- Precompiled Shader Database bundled with downloads through the Xbox PC app
- Reported RAM change
- About 7–8 GB lower in Gears of War: E-Day in Sebastian Castellanos’s case
- Availability
- Nvidia RTX GPUs from the 20-series to the 50-series
4 sources
No more waiting on shaders to compile as Nvidia's latest driver adds advanced shader delivery: users report lower RAM usage in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day
Microsoft expands Advanced Shader Delivery hardware support as multi-storefront rollout due
Nvidia Just Tackled One Of PC Gaming’s Biggest Headaches: Shader Compilation
What people are saying
In Gears of War: E-Day, [RAM usage is] about 7-8 GB lower in my case. CPU usage is still relatively high though.
Modern games rely on tens of thousands of complex shaders