Unreal Engine 5.8 adds support for Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery

Epic Games has added native support for Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) in Unreal Engine 5.8. The update includes a new command-line ASD Tool to help developers address shader compilation stuttering. Epic Games states that the software relies on a State Object Database and a Precompiled Shader Database to shift processing tasks off the user machine. Developers can use the tool to generate an SODB from a cooked Windows game build, which can then be used to distribute precompiled shader data for various GPU families.

Reports say the ASD Tool currently only supports Direct3D 12 games using Shader Model 6 and does not support ray-tracing PSOs. Developers must also generate new SODBs whenever a game build changes its shaders. Epic Games says ASD is intended to complement existing features like PSO precaching and bundled PSO caches rather than replace them.

Hardware support for ASD is broad. NVIDIA has added support through GeForce 621.01 WHQL Game Ready drivers. Microsoft says AMD RDNA 1, RDNA 2, RDNA 3, RDNA 3.5, and RDNA 4 GPUs, along with Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Series with Adreno graphics, already support the technology. Microsoft also expanded support in October to include Intel Arc B-Series (including B570 and B580) and Intel Core Ultra Series 2 and 3. While studios can already submit compiled SODBs to the Microsoft Store, reports say support for the Epic Games Store and Steam is expected in early 2027.