Over the last six months or so very few gaming technologies have been in the public eye as much as AMD's Mantle API. From early release trials and tribulations through Battlefield 4's stuttering launch to being picked up recently by Firaxis and 2K Games for Civilization: Beyond Earth, rarely has a week gone by without it being in the news and being on the tip of everyone's tongue when it comes to next-generation performance for the PC. Naturally AMD and especially the Mantle Steering Committee will be pleased with these continued developments, whilst those on the other side of the fence will be a little concerned that they've been unable to impact this increasing mindshare AMD have been enjoying.
And so we come to today, where AMD and the Mantle Steering Committee are announcing that the Mantle Software Development Kit will be entering a private beta for games developers and other interested parties. It's reported the Committee have unanimously agreed that the stability, performance and functionality milestones of Mantle have been achieved sufficient for this new stage to begin, and in so doing they bring the tech. to a far broader audience than was previously the case.
Forty development studios are already preregistered for the program, but at this time who they are precisely isn't known. However with DICE, Square Enix and 2K Games all with significant interest in the API it's likely to include large industry names eager to gain an early foothold in developing for the 'close to metal' API. The chance of optimising a game or other software title to operate on lower-spec systems, gaining a wider potential user-base, is not something which can be ignored.
The developers will not only have the chance to use the SDK, but also help to guide its development into a mature technology. It will also provide them with early experience of a low CPU overhead API before the industry is expected to transition en-mass over the next few years.
The Mantle SDK portal can be found here. More information on the technology is available via AMD.com.
