Microsoft is once again changing the rules of the graphics game: at GDC 2025, the company unveiled DirectX Raytracing (DXR) 1.2, promising not just improvements but a total leap in performance and visual effects in games! The update, scheduled for release in April, has already created huge excitement among developers and gamers—and for good reason: these new technologies set a new benchmark for realism.
DXR 1.2 introduces two revolutionary features. First is Opacity Micromaps (OMM), dramatically speeding up rendering of semi-transparent textures like foliage, hair, or glass. Forget slow lighting calculations: OMM handles them up to 2.3 times faster while preserving photorealistic quality. The second innovation is Shader Execution Reordering (SER), optimizing GPU tasks by efficiently grouping shaders for optimal execution. The result? Up to a 2x boost in performance in some scenarios, with complex ray-traced scenes seeing gains up to 40%!
Microsoft has already demonstrated DXR 1.2’s capabilities using Alan Wake II, where the new technology significantly improved lighting and shadows without sacrificing FPS. NVIDIA has confirmed support for its RTX cards, while AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm are actively working on implementations. The update will be available in April through the Agility SDK, allowing developers to immediately start creating magic.
