NVIDIA Joins Xbox's Shader Tech: Forza Horizon 6 Loads in Just 4 Seconds

Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery now supports NVIDIA RTX GPUs via driver 621.01, slashing first-launch shader compile times—Forza Horizon 6 drops from ~90 seconds to about 4.

You know that agonizing wait when a game boots up for the first time and sits there "compiling shaders"? Microsoft and NVIDIA just took a big swing at it—and the numbers are wild.

On October 21, Microsoft announced that its Advanced Shader Delivery tech now supports a wide range of Windows 11 devices running NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPUs. NVIDIA flipped the switch in its 621.01 driver, which rolled out the same day. In plain terms: your PC can now grab shader data pre-matched to your hardware while the game is still downloading, so the first launch doesn't turn into a coffee break.

The official figures are pretty eye-opening. Avowed's startup time gets cut by up to 85 percent. And Forza Horizon 6? It drops from nearly a minute and a half down to roughly 4 seconds. Four. Seconds.

Right now, the feature works with select titles on the Microsoft Store and Xbox PC app—think NBA 2K27 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4. Steam and Epic Games Store support is coming soon, so the pool of games that benefit should grow before long.

If you've ever stared at a shader compilation bar wondering why your beefy GPU is being held hostage by a progress meter, this is exactly the kind of quality-of-life fix you've been waiting for. It doesn't make games run faster, but it gets you into them a whole lot quicker—and honestly, that's half the battle.

With NVIDIA now on board alongside the existing rollout, the tech is spreading across more of the Windows 11 ecosystem. The catch for now is that it's limited to certain storefronts and a handful of games, but the Steam and Epic support on the horizon is the part worth watching.

So, what's the longest shader-compile wait you've ever endured? Was it long enough to make a sandwich—or binge a whole episode? Let us know in the comments.