In a nutshell: Forza Horizon 6 is the first title to support Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) tech on most Windows 11 PCs. Users with recent Radeon graphics cards who join the company's Xbox Insider program can now try the feature, which circumvents the need to compile shaders after starting the game.
When Microsoft introduced ASD last year, it was restricted to Asus Xbox ROG Ally devices, but Turn 10 Studios' new racing title brings the feature to standard Windows 11 PCs. Currently, ASD only supports RDNA 3, RDNA 3.5, and RDNA 4 GPUs and integrated graphics, but Nvidia RTX hardware will receive support later this year.
ASD dramatically shortens the long load times users often experience when starting a freshly installed game or booting a game after updating their GPU drivers. Many recent titles employ a complex web of shaders that developers previously could not compile for the near-infinite variety of PC configurations, forcing users to choose between lengthy local compilation or unstable performance.
Also Read: Shader Compilation and Why It Causes Stuttering, Explained
Microsoft addressed the problem by reorganizing shader categorization to store pre-compiled shaders in the cloud. Users can download the shaders during installation or after updating drivers, significantly reducing startup time.
Microsoft claims that, on a system using a Radeon RX 7600 GPU and a Ryzen 7 5800 CPU, ASD shortened Forza Horizon 6's initial loading screen by 95%, from around a minute and a half to just four seconds. Those interested can try the feature by signing up for the beta, updating the Gaming Services in the Microsoft Store, and selecting PC Gaming Preview in the Insider Hub.
Avowed, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Control, Farming Simulator 25, Forza Horizon 5, Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Silent Hill f, and many other titles also support ASD on the ROG Xbox Ally through the Xbox PC app. Microsoft did not confirm whether those games now support ASD on additional devices or PC platforms such as Steam.
TechSpot's analysis shows that Forza Horizon 6, one of 2026's most highly anticipated games, runs smoothly on a wide variety of GPUs, even with ray tracing, as long as they have at least 12GB of VRAM. Although 8GB graphics cards have begun to struggle with some recent titles, 12 years after the debut of the first GPU to feature that amount, component shortages might ensure that they remain common for a while yet.