Intel has decided to discontinue support for 16x MSAA (Multi-Sample Anti-Aliasing) with its next-generation Xe3 graphics architecture. According to the company, this decision comes as AI-based solutions are gaining prominence in upscaling and anti-aliasing in game graphics. The Xe3 architecture will now only support 2x, 4x, and 8x MSAA levels.

Intel to discontinue support for 16x MSAA

16x MSAA was historically used to provide high-quality anti-aliasing, but it was not widely preferred due to its significant GPU load. Modern GPU architectures have begun to offer more efficient technologies to replace such traditional methods.

Intel’s own solution, XeSS, as well as AMD’s FSR and Nvidia’s DLSS technologies, utilize AI to utilize fewer system resources while still providing higher visual quality. These advancements have also pushed the use of traditional techniques like MSAA into the background.

According to an update made by Intel engineers to the Mesa open-source graphics driver, some models with the Xe3 architecture will no longer support 16x MSAA. This support is planned to be phased out for the remaining models. This step is intended to simplify driver management and guide developers towards modern methods.

The new Xe3 architecture will be released alongside Intel’s upcoming Panther Lake processor family. This change in graphics architecture is designed to provide greater efficiency, particularly in real-time rendering. The fact that the vast majority of game developers are now using modern solutions like TAA, DLSS, XeSS, or FSR instead of traditional MSAA makes removing 16x MSAA support unnecessary from a hardware perspective.

Intel’s decision is considered part of a trend toward simplification and optimization in GPU architectures, and similar simplifications are expected to continue in future GPU designs.