Epic Games adds shader precompilation tool to Unreal Engine 5.8

Epic Games has published documentation covering support for Microsoft's DirectX 12 Advanced Shader Delivery in Unreal Engine 5.8, including a new ASD Tool that generates a State Object Database from a cooked Windows Direct3D12 game build. The documentation was reported by wccftech.com.

According to the documentation, the generated database can be submitted to supported storefronts, which then precompile its shaders for specific GPU architectures and drivers before a game is downloaded. The tool collects compute shaders from cooked shader archives and graphics and compute pipeline state objects from bundled pipeline caches.

That data can be compiled into hardware-specific Precompiled Shader Databases, which are distributed through supporting storefronts.

What the feature does not cover

Advanced Shader Delivery does not replace Unreal Engine 5's existing pipeline state object precaching, and Epic recommends keeping those existing mechanisms enabled. Ray tracing pipeline state objects are not supported by the current implementation, and older GPU drivers and unsupported hardware may not benefit from the technology.

Epic's documentation targets early 2027 for Advanced Shader Delivery support on the Epic Games Store. In April 2026, Microsoft's implementation of the technology for Unreal Engine 5 was spotted in development. Advanced Shader Delivery was originally introduced alongside the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds in 2025, and Microsoft has confirmed it is coming to Steam and the Epic Games Store; it is already supported through the Microsoft Store and Xbox PC App.