Tom Petersen clarifies Intel’s Xe and Arc GPU roadmap, avoids confirming B770 and Celestial plans

Intel Xe3 should really be called Xe2 Plus/Prime

Intel Fellow Tom Petersen joined The Full Nerd podcast to clarify Intel’s GPU naming structure and provide updates on the company’s Xe graphics roadmap. Petersen explained that the goal is to simplify architecture naming after early confusion around Alchemist and its internal codenames. He said:

“At the end of the day, the naming for our architectures was just too complicated. Let’s simplify that. So simplifying that gets you to saying now there are multiple things that are just Xe.” — Tom Petersen

He also noted that the new Xe3 architecture is an evolution of Xe2, not a complete redesign. Petersen explained:

“Xe3 got named a long time ago… It’s mostly similar to Xe2. The things that I talk about that are changing are important, but it’s more evolutionary. If you were completely transparent, you’d probably call it Xe2 Prime or Xe2 Plus Plus.” — Tom Petersen

More importantly, Petersen said that early naming was decided years ago, including Xe3’s. Since the codename is already heavily used in Linux development, it would have been very difficult to change it now, hence, it is still called Xe3.

Intel on NVIDIA RTX chiplets and the end of discrete GPUs?

Petersen confirmed that Intel Arc graphics will continue as the product brand, even as the underlying architecture evolves. He noted that Intel has always focused on integration, so the partnership with NVIDIA is the next logical step for (gaming) laptops. Rather than relying on the “bulky” PCIe standard, a single chip will eventually integrate Intel CPUs, NPUs, and third-party GPUs,  in this case, NVIDIA RTX chiplets.

Reading between the lines, this suggests Intel sees discrete gaming GPUs in laptops nearing their end. AMD’s ongoing effort to add more GPU power to its processors may be pointing in the right direction. While the Strix Halo APU may not compete with RTX 5090 or 5080-class GPUs, it clearly puts pressure on the 60- and 70-series performance tier. Petersen’s comments hint that future NVIDIA RTX chiplets could be used in high-performance gaming laptops, potentially reducing the need for discrete GPUs within few generations.

Arc B770 & Celestial – no update

One of the most common questions is about the Arc B770 , the rumored high-end Battlemage (BMG-G31) desktop GPU that has been circulating for months. Fortunately, PCWorld’s Brad Chacos asked Petersen about it directly, but unfortunately, Petersen declined to answer:

“As you know, I don’t talk about unreleased products, and I try not to hint either.” — Tom Petersen

Petersen also declined to comment on Celestial , the codename for Intel’s next-generation discrete GPUs. Celestial is often incorrectly associated with integrated graphics, which likely results from Intel’s previously confusing Alchemist–Battlemage–Celestial–Druid roadmap shown several years ago. He did, however, confirm that Xe3P will use C-Series naming , so he kind of already announced it. Plus, he did mention that Xe3P is definitely gaming capable.

I mean, it’s not like these codenames weren’t communicated before, it is right for journalists and gamers to ask where they are on the roadmaps. Unless Intel isn’t telling us the whole story. It definitely looks like the Intel/NVIDIA deal is still in a planning phase rather than an actual product coming soon.

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