Intel’s next big move in the discrete graphics market is starting to look much clearer, as fresh evidence points to the long-rumored Battlemage BMG-G31 GPU nearing its debut. 
A recently surfaced NBD shipping manifest has revealed details that strongly suggest Intel is preparing the groundwork for what enthusiasts believe will become the Arc B770 card – a successor positioned above the Arc B580 and finally aimed at the mid-to-high-end gaming tier.
The Arc B580 has been the fastest Intel dGPU to date, built on the BMG-G21 die, but despite its relative strength, it has never truly broken into the performance class demanded by gamers targeting NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4070 Ti or AMD’s RX 7800 XT territory. Instead, Intel’s offerings have mostly occupied the budget and entry-mid segments. Variants of the G21 die powered products such as the Arc B570 and even workstation-grade solutions like the Arc Pro B50 and B60. The BMG-G31, however, has been the subject of intense speculation precisely because it represents the long-awaited leap beyond that ceiling.
According to the shipping manifest, the BMG-G31 GPU package was logged back in June, measuring roughly 390 x 189 x 83 mm – dimensions similar to the G21’s 381 x 192 x 89 mm. While physically not dramatically larger, the new die is expected to pack significantly more Xe2 cores. Early estimates indicate the Arc B770 will ship with 32 Xe2 cores paired with 16 GB of memory running on a 256-bit bus. That configuration could finally deliver performance competitive with mainstream high-end cards while retaining Intel’s more aggressive pricing strategy.
It’s worth noting that not all leaks confirm this will indeed be a gaming card. Some observers caution that the G31 could also be used for professional visualization SKUs. After all, Intel has blurred the lines before by using similar silicon for both consumer and pro-grade products. Still, the timing and context make it difficult to dismiss the possibility that a flagship Battlemage card is closer than many skeptics had predicted.
For context, the Arc B580 itself surfaced in a similar shipping manifest about 2.5 months before its official release. If Intel follows that same pattern, the Arc B770 could potentially see shelves before the year is out. That said, leaks are never definitive indicators of market timelines, and Intel’s GPU roadmap has already endured delays in the past. Even so, the addition of BMG-G31 entries in the Compute Runtime libraries earlier this summer, coupled with this manifest, shows Intel is actively preparing deployment.
The market impact could be significant. While NVIDIA and AMD continue to raise prices – with the RTX 4070 Ti still positioned far above its logical tier and AMD’s RX 7800 XT priced higher than its predecessors – Intel has the opportunity to disrupt. Gamers frustrated with rising GPU costs are openly rooting for an alternative that delivers solid performance at saner pricing. If the Arc B770 indeed launches with 16 GB of VRAM, it may also prove useful for creators using Blender or other GPU-accelerated workloads, where VRAM capacity matters almost as much as raw compute power.
What remains uncertain is whether Intel can deliver the necessary driver stability and software support to make the Battlemage B770 a true contender. Hardware alone won’t win over skeptical gamers who recall the rocky beginnings of Arc Alchemist. Still, the excitement bubbling up online is undeniable: Intel’s big Battlemage might finally be the card that breaks through the duopoly and gives enthusiasts a genuine third option in the GPU wars.
1 comment
better late than never, but idk if ppl gonna care… still nice to see a third player in the fight