Microsoft released DirectStorage 1.1 recently, an updated technology to improve the loading times of PC games significantly. Games that make use of DirectStorage 1.1 may move decompression tasks from the processor to the graphics processing unit; this speeds up the operation, as GPUs are better suited for these tasks, and reduces the load on the CPU at the same time.
DirectStorage 1.1 does not change the hardware requirements introduced with DirectStorage 1.0: a fast NVMe drive and a GPU that supports DirectX 12 and Shader Model 6.0 is required to make use of the feature.
Graphics processing units that support DirectStorage do support the updated version as well. Manufacturers like AMD, Intel and Nvidia may release optimizations, called metacommands, to optimize the feature on devices that run their graphics cards.
Intel released a new driver for its ARC GPU series this week that introduced support for ” optimized Microsoft DirectStorage* 1.1 with GPU accelerated decompression for developer integration”.
AMD has yet to release a public driver with metacommands; the company revealed that it has “a build of a metacommand-enabled graphics driver” for partners available. Nvidia released driver 526.98 and with it official support for DirectStorage 1.1.
What about games?
The operating system and video cards support DirectStorage, but this means little if there are not any games available that have implemented the API. In fact, gamers will be hard pressed finding games that support the feature right now.
One of the first developers to announce support for DirectStorage was the developer behind the Forspoken game, which will be released on January 24, 2023. Another game is The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, or better, the next-gen version of the game, which CD Project Red plans to release on December 14, 2022. It is unclear if the PC version will include support for the feature on release though.
DirectStorage will make an impact in the coming years, but there is no hurry for gamers to hop on the train right now.
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