All talk in town right now is all about the Intel-Nvidia partnership , and a question on many minds is whether that means Intel might be scrapping its plans for upcoming Arc graphics cards or iGPUs. The company is attempting to assuage those fears, as one of its spokespeople told PCWorld , “We’re not discussing specific roadmaps at this time, but the collaboration is complementary to Intel’s roadmap and Intel will continue to have GPU product offerings."

Intel also reiterated that its collaboration with Nvidia is "complementary" to the company's extant roadmap. Both those statements seem clear at face value, but some might find it a little hard to believe, given everything that's happened with Intel in the past year, namely but not only the major cuts to its workforce and a refocusing on profitability. The wording of the statement is also curious, as the company stating it will still have GPUs doesn't clarify what type they will be, or who will design them.

Last December, Intel's ex-CEO Pat Gelsinger left abruptly. Shortly after, former CEO of Products Michelle Holthaus stated that Intel remained committed to Arc. In March, Intel named Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO , who issued more staff cuts and reportedly issued an order that any of Intel's new products have a 50% gross margin . Additionally, Holthaus was ousted recently , after a mere 10 months in charge of Products. The company offered no updates to its Arc roadmap in the meantime.

All those events would be enough to question Arc's continued existence, but now the Nvidia partnership has added further concern, especially in light of Intel saying that it intends to use RTX chiplets in mobile and gaming devices, casting a pall over Arc iGPUs. Judging by the latest Steam hardware survey , Intel's share has remained fairly steady over the past couple of years, sitting at 7.9%. If RTX chiplets in mobile devices prove popular, they would certainly eat away at it.

Intel and Nvidia both claim their partnership won't affect existing roadmaps , but some in the enthusiast community fear that a $5 billion cash influx from Nvidia could come with pressure for Intel not to compete with RTX cards — assuming Nvidia is still fully focused on the gaming market, given how it now represents a small fraction of the company's business.

We reviewed the Arc B580 in December and found it to have the best value in its price bracket despite some misgivings about its drivers. The $250 price point is hotly contested, and a high volume of sales in this bracket would certainly translate into additional market share for Intel, which has seen the size of its slice remain steady over the past couple of years. The existing Arc roadmap looks promising, but despite Intel's statement, many feel its future is under threat.

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