An Intel GPU that was previously thought to have been cancelled has resurfaced in several recent shipping manifests. The documents, believed to show stock moving between different Intel labs, give strong credibility to speculation that the chipmaker is indeed working on a new high-end Battlemage GPU for gamers.
If that's the case, it's likely to gain a lot of interest, as Intel Battlemage rumors seemed to suggest that Intel had given up on the market in the face of stiff competition from AMD and Nvidia.
However, these recent shipping manifests would seem to suggest that isn't entirely the case. Several manifest entries were spotted in the last few weeks by Haze2K1 in posts on X (formerly Twitter), with all of the entries referencing BMG-G31 and Battlemage-G31, the codenames used for the previously speculated (and believed to be cancelled) new GPU. None of the items shipped appear to be GPUs themselves, but some of them do reference being "designed for" the Battlemage G31 GPU.
The shipments, made in March, were believed to be sent to Intel Vietnam, a lab that was responsible for producing Limited Edition cards for the Intel Arc B580 and B570. Another Intel tech leaker, OneRaichu, also commented recently on the possibility of new GPUs in an X post, suggesting their belief that "we will look" at a new Battlemage GPU in the future. Videocardz has also added to that speculation, suggesting in a recent report that a Battlemage GPU with 24GB VRAM is indeed in development, with Intel referring to it as "Developer Edition" internally.
A lot of commentary then, but unfortunately, very little concrete information. The manifest entries simply confirm that Intel is moving stock between its labs, and the company hasn't made any public announcement about moving forward with any new Battlemage GPUs for consumers. Even if such a product is still in development, it's very unlikely we'll hear anything official about it until the company is ready to launch the product.
If Intel were to launch a new and more powerful Battlemage GPU, with a decent MSRP price and enough available stock at that price, it could have a strong impact on the market. Increasing competition in the budget GPU market could lead to better performance (and prices) for casual gamers, so we'll be keeping a close eye on what comes out of Intel's R&D over the next year to see if a GPU like that is indeed on the cards.
Until then, check out our RTX 5060 Ti review to see an Nvidia alternative under $500 that offers strong performance for mid-tier gaming without breaking the bank.
You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We've also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with of the team and fellow readers.