Advanced Shader Delivery is now live for Modern Warfare 4 on PC, and Microsoft says it cuts the first-launch shader compile from several minutes to a few seconds. You get it if you play the Xbox app copy of the game on Windows 11 24H2 or newer with a supported AMD, Intel, NVIDIA or Qualcomm GPU and a current driver. The order you set things up in matters, so here’s what to do before your next download.
Microsoft announced the wider rollout on its DirectX blog on October 21. Gears of War: E-Day got it first, at the start of early access on October 1, per Microsoft’s earlier post.
What Advanced Shader Delivery does
Most PC games build their shaders on your machine. That’s the long “compiling shaders” screen on first launch, and it’s also behind the hitches you get when a game builds a shader it hasn’t seen yet. With Advanced Shader Delivery, the shaders come prebuilt with the game download. Microsoft says that means shorter loading, less shader stutter in game and lower power use, and it puts the cut in compile time for Gears of War: E-Day at about 95%.
How to get it in Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day
Start with Windows. You need Windows 11 version 24H2 or newer, which you can check by typing winver in the Start menu or opening Settings > System > About. Modern Warfare 4 itself still runs on an up-to-date Windows 10, as our Modern Warfare 4 PC requirements post explains, but Windows 10 doesn’t get Advanced Shader Delivery.
Next, update your graphics driver to at least the version in the table below. Then install the Xbox PC app before you download the game. Microsoft’s instructions say to install the app first and download Modern Warfare 4 after.
When you launch the game, look at the bottom-left corner of the launch screen. If it’s working, you’ll see “Precompiled shaders installed.” Microsoft hasn’t said whether a game you downloaded before updating your driver picks it up later, so if the line is missing, that’s the first thing to suspect.
| GPU maker | Supported graphics | Minimum driver |
|---|---|---|
| AMD | RDNA 1, RDNA 2, RDNA 3, RDNA 3.5 and RDNA 4 | Adrenalin 26.6.1 |
| Intel | Arc B570 and B580, Core Ultra Series 2 and Series 3 | 32.0.101.9150 |
| NVIDIA | All RTX GPUs and RTX Spark | 621.01 |
| Qualcomm | Snapdragon X2 Series | 2026.08.3 |
Microsoft doesn’t list older cards such as NVIDIA’s GTX line. On those, the game still compiles shaders the usual way.
Which copy you need
For now, Advanced Shader Delivery only works through the Microsoft Store and the Xbox PC app. Modern Warfare 4 is sold on PC through Steam, Battle.net and the Xbox app, and it isn’t on Game Pass, as our Modern Warfare 4 launch guide explains. If you bought the digital game on the Xbox Store, it comes with Xbox Play Anywhere, so you can install that same copy on PC through the Xbox app and get faster first launches without buying it again.
Gears of War: E-Day works the same way. The Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass copies through the Xbox app get it, and the Steam copy doesn’t yet.
Microsoft says the feature is coming “soon” to Steam and the Epic Games Store, and that Epic plans to add it to Fortnite in an upcoming update. There’s no date for either store, and Microsoft hasn’t mentioned Battle.net. If your copy of Modern Warfare 4 is on Steam or Battle.net, you’ll sit through the normal compile for now.
Other games that already use it
Modern Warfare 4 and Gears of War: E-Day aren’t the only ones. Microsoft keeps a list of supported games that includes Forza Horizon 6, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hogwarts Legacy and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Developers using Unreal Engine 5.8.4 can add support today, and Microsoft says Unity support arrives in 2027.
If you play on PC through the Xbox app with a supported card and Windows 11 24H2, update your driver before your next big download. That’s most of the trick.