Intel has quietly initiated open-source efforts to lay the groundwork for its next-generation Xe3P graphics within the Mesa OpenGL "Iris" and Vulkan "Anvil" drivers. According to a report from Phoronix, these efforts are not immediately focused on making the driver functional but rather on establishing code paths that can be developed for this graphics IP in the future. This means preliminary support is still a few weeks away, as additional work is needed behind the scenes. By the time Xe3P GPUs are released, open-source driver support should be ready.

We expect to see the first versions of Xe3P GPUs this year, as this IP will take on various forms. Some will be featured in the upcoming "Nova Lake" desktop processors for the consumer market, anticipated later this year. Early open-source enablement suggests "Nova Lake-P" processors will include Xe3P-LPG for integrated graphics. Additionally, "Nova Lake-P" processors will incorporate multiple new IPs like Xe3P-LPM for media processing, which handles decoding and encoding, and Xe3P-LPD for display output processing. Finally, the Xe3P IP will also be part of Intel's AI-focused "Crescent Island" inference GPU, which will feature 160 GB of onboard LPDDR5X. We are still awaiting performance claims for this Xe3P GPU, so we need to be patient a little longer.

Intel has once again confirmed its product roadmap for the next generation of graphics IP, despite rumors that there might not be anything new after the launch of the Xe3P. According to a new presentation from Intel's Anil Nanduri, Vice President of GTM & Product Management AI Accelerators, responsible for data center AI accelerators, Intel will have a dedicated graphics portfolio after the recently introduced "Crescent Island." Labeled as "Xe Next," the next generation of GPU IP is still under development and currently without an official name. It is expected to follow the rollout of the Xe3P-based "Crescent Island" inference-focused GPUs. With "Xe Next," the data center lineup is seemingly expanding into two production lines: inference-focused "Crescent Island" GPUs and the long-awaited "Jaguar Shores" GPU for AI training and HPC workloads.

For AI training and HPC workloads, Intel's "Jaguar Shores" design is reportedly being finalized and will be completed by the middle of this year, with production starting shortly after. Assuming a perfect design, we could see Intel's "Jaguar Shores" GPU late this year or early 2027. It will likely involve a mix of Intel's internal production in collaboration with TSMC or Intel's pure 18A design, assuming yields are manageable. We have already seen that Intel confirmed HBM4 memory will be used in these accelerators, and SK hynix appears to be the main partner supplying Intel with this memory. As a rack-scale design, Intel will compete with NVIDIA and AMD in the highest-margin business.

In the latest set of enablement patches, Intel has confirmed that the upcoming "Nova Lake-P" processors will utilize Xe3P-LPG to power their integrated graphics. In addition, "Nova Lake-P" processors will include multiple new IPs like the Xe3P-LPM for media processing, which includes decoding and encoding, and the Xe3P-LPD for display output processing. These new IPs will work in tandem to deliver the next generation of Intel graphics, which will be separated into two categories within the "Nova Lake" generation. Interestingly, we learned a while back that not every "Nova Lake" SKU will ship with the same GPU configuration. "Nova Lake-H" mobile variants are expected to support ray tracing with the Xe3P-LPG graphics, while "Nova Lake-S," "Nova Lake-HX," and "Nova Lake-UL" may not.

The company seems to be selectively enabling advanced GPU features across these SKUs rather than providing a uniform feature set, as Xe3P-boosted "Nova Lake-H" notebook chips will be succeeding "Panther Lake-H" with its Xe3 GPU IP, so the new P variant will bring more power to mobile gaming setups and be a true successor in late 2026 or early 2027. This type of segmentation is a common strategy to differentiate products using the same silicon, which will influence purchasing decisions for gamers, creators, and laptop buyers of the future "Nova Lake" systems. Additionally, bundling next-generation GPU graphics IP like the Xe3P-LPG will be of massive significance only to those users relying on integrated GPUs, while those purchasing systems with discrete GPUs will focus primarily on the CPU and display/media output side.