What better way to kick off the first Diablo IV beta weekend than with optimised Game On drivers. Intel has just dropped version 31.0.101.4148, including optimisations for highly-anticipated Diablo IV beta launch, as well as multiplayer subterfuge in Deceive Inc. and a couple of bug fixes for early access indie, Sons of The Forest.
I admit, I’m a tad jealous. Diablo IV early access beta is already well underway for those who pre-ordered the game and will end March 20, giving those die-hard dungeon crawlers the perfect opportunity to get a feel for the game. The beta provides opportunity to customise characters, explore the open world that is Sanctuary, as well as test three basic classes; a battle-bred Barbarian, dual-wielding Rogue, or roleplay Gandalf the Grey as a powerful Sorcerer. “You shall not pass!”
Game On Driver support should help prevent running into any adverse problems, but be advised, there is a known issue that may exhibit corruption on character during gameplay with the ‘Highlight Character When Obscured’ setting enabled. Game breaking it is not, but an identified annoyance we expect to be fixed prior to the game’s official launch.
Another ‘Game On’ optimised title comes in the form of upcoming Deceive Inc. that is making a bit of noise in the multiplayer space. It not only wants your wallet, but also your time. An online PVP and co-op shooter, this one is a little different than your average battle royale in that it is based in the world of espionage and requires players to use high-tech gadgets, deception, and a little strategy to neutralise the competition. Deceive Inc. will be available on all major platforms starting March 21.
The included patch notes read as follows:
Gaming Highlights
Intel Game On Driver support on Intel Arc A-series Graphics for:
- Deceive Inc.
- Diablo 4 (Beta)
Game performance optimizations on Intel Arc A-series Graphics for:
- Sons of The Forest
Fixed Issues
Intel Arc Graphics Products:
- The Riftbreaker (DX12) may exhibit black line corruption with the Xbox Game Pass version.
- Resident Evil 4 Remake Chainsaw Demo (DX12) may experience lower than expected performance during gameplay.
Intel Core Processor Products:
- Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (DX12) may exhibit texture or striped corruption during gameplay.
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (DX12) may exhibit texture or striped corruption during gameplay.
- Dirt 5 (DX12) may exhibit texture corruption in the skybox.
Known Issues
Intel Arc Graphics Products:
- Diablo 4 (Beta) may exhibit corruption on character during gameplay with ‘Highlight Character When Obscured’ setting enabled.
- Sea of Thieves (DX11) may exhibit color corruption on water edges.
- Conqueror’s Blade (DX11) may exhibit corruption in benchmark mode.
- System may hang while waking up from sleep. May need to power cycle the system for recovery.
- GPU hardware acceleration may not be available for media playback and encode with some versions of Adobe Premiere Pro.
- Blender may exhibit corruption while using Nishita Sky texture node.
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 Products:
- Total War: Warhammer III (DX11) may experience an application crash when loading battle scenarios.
- Call of Duty Warzone 2.0 (DX12) may exhibit corruption on certain buildings and floors during gameplay.
- Conqueror’s Blade (DX12) may experience an application crash during game launch.
- A Plague Tale: Requiem (DX12) may experience application instability during gameplay.
Intel Arc Control Known Issues:
- Windows UAC Admin is required to install and launch Arc Control.
- The Live Performance Monitoring page may not apply the desired removal of some performance metric tiles.
- The Resizable Bar status may show an incorrect value on systems with multiple Intel Graphics Adapters.
- Using Arc Control Studio capture with certain games may incorrectly generate multiple video files.
- Using Arc Control Studio capture with AVC codec selected may incorrectly use the HEVC codec
- Modifying performance sliders may fail to apply back to their default values. A workaround is to use the “Reset to Defaults” button.
The updated drivers are available to download here.
