Intel’s Canceled Battlemage GPUs Featured Up to 40 Xe2 Cores and 3D Stacked Cache

Intel had ambitious plans for its Battlemage (Xe2) GPU lineup—a generation meant to redefine the company’s graphics division.

Battlemage: Canceled Models Revealed GPUs with up to 40 Xe2 Cores

Early designs included much more powerful configurations than the versions that eventually reached the market, featuring chips with up to 40 Xe2 cores and new technologies such as 3D-stacked memory like 3D V-Cache.

The original plans showed that the main silicon, known as BMG-G10, would have two high-performance variants—one with 28 Xe2 cores and another with 40 Xe2 cores—well above the 20 cores implemented in the final models.

The prototype also revealed a configuration with six GDDR6 memory modules, a 192-bit bus, and dual 8-pin connectors, clearly targeting the high-end market segment.

3D-Stacked “Adamantine” Cache Promised Major Performance Gains

One of the most remarkable innovations was the so-called “Adamantine cache”, a 3D-stacked memory with up to 512 MB of capacity located beneath the GPU die. This design aimed to reduce latency and drastically improve performance in demanding graphics tasks.

Additionally, the technology was planned to integrate into future SoCs internally known as “Halo”, which would combine CPU and GPU in a single high-performance package.

However, these ambitious plans never materialized. Financial challenges and strategic shifts within Intel’s graphics division led to the cancellation of several projects.

Even so, the company has not given up on the segment and continues developing new drivers, performance optimizations, and technologies such as XeSS 3 MFG, which point toward a stronger next generation

In short, Battlemage showcased Intel’s vast potential in the graphics field. While many of its ideas remained on paper, they set the stage for a more ambitious future evolution that could arrive with the Celestial generation.