The popular game engine Unreal Engine is preparing to address one of the most frustrating issues for PC users: performance "stuttering" caused by the shader compilation process. According to recent updates in Epic Games' official documentation, the upcoming UE 5.8 release will provide native support for Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) technology, developed by Microsoft.
This issue typically occurs when a game is forced to process shaders and adapt them to the user's specific graphics card (GPU) and driver versions for the first time during gameplay, leading to sudden drops in frame rate smoothness. ASD technology aims to shift part of this workload away from the user's local device.
How will this technology work?
ASD technology relies on two core technical pillars:
- Shader Object Database (SODB): Provides a unified format for storing game data related to shaders.
- Pre-compiled Shader Database (PSDB): Acts as a remote cache for pre-prepared shaders.
Through a new software tool integrated into UE 5.8, developers will be able to create SODB files from final game builds (Cooked builds). Subsequently, digital storefronts can use this data to distribute ready-made shaders tailored to various graphics card families and driver versions, reducing the need for real-time processing on the player's machine.
What changes in practice?
Practically, this move aims to bring the PC gaming experience closer to the performance stability offered by dedicated consoles. However, it should be noted that this technology is not a "magic bullet" on its own; Epic Games recommends that developers continue to use existing caching features (PSO caching) alongside ASD to ensure the best results.
Current limitations and challenges
Despite the promising potential, the technology in its current phase faces some technical limitations that developers must consider:
- Limited support: The tool currently supports Direct3D 12 games using Shader Model 6 only.
- Absence of ray tracing: The technology does not currently support Pipeline State Objects (PSOs) for ray tracing.
- Continuous updates: Developers will have to create new SODB files every time changes are made to shaders in the game build.
Regarding availability, game studios can already begin submitting their SODB files to the Microsoft Store, while support for the Steam and Epic Games Store platforms is expected to arrive in early 2027.