- NVIDIA driver 621.01 enables Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery on supported GeForce RTX systems.
- The technology uses cloud-precompiled shaders to reduce game startup delays and shader-related stuttering.
- Gears of War: E-Day and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 are among the games included in the rollout, with availability timing varying by title.
- Compatible AMD and Qualcomm systems also support the technology through specific graphics drivers.
NVIDIA’s latest driver enables Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery to reduce shader compilation delays and stuttering in supported PC games on Windows 11.
The company has released a new GeForce Game Ready Driver that enables Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery technology, which can reduce game startup delays and prevent stuttering caused by shader compilation on Windows 11.
The update arrives shortly after AMD expanded its FSR 4.1 upscaling technology to older Radeon graphics cards and handheld gaming devices, giving gaming PCs more options to improve image quality and performance without upgrading their hardware.
The new driver, version 621.01, prepares GeForce RTX graphics cards for supported games, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day. The technology moves shader compilation to Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, allowing compatible gaming PCs to download precompiled shaders instead of doing all the work locally.
This approach can eliminate the shader compilation screen in supported games and reduce processor spikes and frame stutters during gameplay. However, the benefits depend on game support and whether precompiled shaders are available for your hardware and driver configuration.
Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery explained
Modern PC games use shaders to render graphics, including lighting, materials, and visual effects. Before a graphics processor can use them, it often needs to compile shaders into instructions compatible with the specific GPU and graphics driver.
This process can take time when you launch or update a game. Compiling shaders during gameplay can also cause temporary performance drops and stuttering, especially when a game encounters effects it hasn’t prepared in advance.
Microsoft’s Advanced Shader Delivery aims to address these problems by moving the work to the cloud.
Using DirectX 12, Windows 11, and the Microsoft Agility SDK, developers capture shaders in a State Object Database (SODB). Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure then uses this information to precompile shaders for different combinations of graphics hardware and drivers.
NVIDIA’s Andrew Burnes explains that this process allows Microsoft to prepare shaders for hundreds of thousands of hardware and driver combinations.
When you download or update a supported game through the Xbox app for Windows 11, the system delivers a Precompiled Shader Database (PSDB) suited to your device’s configuration. This lets the game use precompiled shaders rather than compiling them locally when needed.
According to NVIDIA, Advanced Shader Delivery achieves a near-100 percent cache hit rate in supported titles, eliminating mid-game just-in-time shader compilation and the associated main processor spikes and frame stutters.
Two games support Advanced Shader Delivery
NVIDIA’s latest driver enables Advanced Shader Delivery in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day.
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, the technology allows players to skip the shader compilation screen, reducing the wait before they can start playing. In Gears of War: E-Day, it helps prevent shader compilation from interrupting gameplay with sudden processor spikes and frame stutters.
The feature also has an important requirement. You need the Xbox PC app installed to receive precompiled shader data for supported games.
The technology is designed to work across storefronts, so you don’t necessarily have to buy the game from the Microsoft Store. However, the game must support Advanced Shader Delivery, and the Xbox PC app must be available to deliver the required shader database.
Installing the app and updating your graphics driver won’t automatically enable the technology in every game.
NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm support
Advanced Shader Delivery isn’t exclusive to NVIDIA graphics cards. It also supports compatible AMD graphics hardware and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 series, as long as you have the necessary drivers installed.
Here’s what you need:
- NVIDIA: GeForce Game Ready Driver version 621.01.
- AMD: AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition version 26.6.1 or later.
- Qualcomm: Graphics driver version 2026.08.3 or later for supported Snapdragon X2 series systems.
You can download NVIDIA’s latest driver directly from the official NVIDIA download link. You can also get the update through the NVIDIA app.
AMD users can check the Adrenalin 26.6.1 release notes, while Qualcomm users can find the required software on the official Windows graphics driver page.
Keep in mind that driver compatibility is only part of the requirement. You also need a supported game and the appropriate software configuration to receive and use precompiled shaders.
Advanced Shader Delivery could make PC gaming smoother
Shader compilation has long frustrated PC gamers, especially when a game requires a lengthy compilation process before the first launch or when compiling shaders during gameplay causes stuttering.
Would you like to see Advanced Shader Delivery in more PC games?
Voting closes: October 29, 2026 1:00 pm
Advanced Shader Delivery reduces those delays by pre-compiling shaders for different hardware and driver combinations. Instead of relying entirely on the player’s computer to compile them, Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure handles much of the work before the game needs them.
The technology won’t fix every performance problem or guarantee faster overall loading in every game. However, it addresses a specific source of delays and stuttering without requiring players to upgrade their graphics cards or processors.
For now, support remains limited to compatible games, but NVIDIA’s new driver gives GeForce RTX users another way to benefit from Microsoft’s approach to improving the PC gaming experience.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert and founder of Pureinfotech in 2010. With over 23 years as a technology writer and IT Specialist, Mauro specializes in Windows, software, and cross-platform systems such as Linux, Android, and macOS.
Certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), VMware Certified Professional (VCP), and CompTIA A+ and Network+.
Mauro is a recognized Microsoft MVP and has also been a long-time contributor to Windows Central.
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