Microsoft today introduced DirectX 12 at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. DX12 is Microsoft's latest version of the graphics API that is the dominant standard in the growing, $25 billion PC gaming industry. Developers have been asking for a thinner, more efficient API that allows them to control hardware resources more directly. Despite significant efficiency improvements delivered by continuous advancement of existing API implementations, next-generation applications want to extract all possible performance from multi-core systems. Developers also want to take direct advantage of advanced GPU hardware features, from which developers are currently insulated to provide fool-proof usage. DirectX 12 was designed from scratch to provide the infrastructure for these advanced applications.

Looks like DirectX 12 will mirror many of the improvements AMD implemented in its own Mantle API. The big news today was that DX12 will support more than just the PC and will work on existing hardware. Microsoft will bring DX12 to all of its platforms, including the Xbox One and, if I understand correctly, Windows Phone. Which hardware will be DX12-compatible? AMD said all of its Graphics Core Next-based Radeon GPUs (i.e. Radeon HD 7000 series and newer) will work with the new API. Nvidia pledged support for all Fermi, Kepler, and Maxwell (i.e. GeForce GTX 400 series and newer) parts. The keynote included a demo of Forza 5 running in DirectX 12 mode atop an Nvidia GPU. Finally, Intel said the integrated graphics in its existing Haswell processors will also have DX12 support. All in all, Microsoft estimates that 100% of new desktop GPUs, 80% of new gaming PCs, and 50% of PC gamers will be able to take advantage of the new API.