Modern Warfare 4 beta reduces PC shader compilation delays
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Infinity Ward and co-developer Beenox introduced a fix for two long-standing PC annoyances in Call of Duty games ahead of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta. The first addresses the lengthy "Compiling Shaders" wait, which normally recurs whenever a game is first launched, GPU drivers update, or major patches arrive, an issue consoles avoid thanks to standardised hardware; from the beta onward, shaders instead pre-load in the background after downloading. The second tackles the "Update Requires Restart" problem, where returning players often had to restart the game multiple times to fully apply patches.
The shader fix works best via the Battle.net launcher, where pre-loading begins automatically, while Steam players still face a first-launch compiling step, albeit a faster one, before pre-loading takes over for future sessions; developers say the full benefit only arrives with Modern Warfare 4's full release, once shaders need compiling just once rather than after every seasonal update. On the restart issue, PC players and PlayStation 5 users should see far fewer forced restarts, though Xbox will still require some until launch and Nintendo Switch 2 will continue needing restarts throughout the beta and launch period.
- Modern Warfare 4 beta trims the dreaded "Compiling Shaders" wait on PC
- Shaders now pre-load in background, best via Battle.net launcher
- Fewer forced restarts too, though Xbox and Switch 2 still lag behind
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is the next entry in Activision's blockbuster military shooter series, developed by Infinity Ward with Beenox, and it's due for release with a public beta test running first. PC gaming has long been plagued by "Compiling Shaders" screens, an unavoidable pause where the game prepares graphics instructions for a player's specific hardware, typically appearing at first launch, after graphics driver updates, or following big patches. Console players rarely see this because consoles all share the same standardised hardware, so shaders never need re-compiling for different setups.
Shaders are essentially small programs that tell a graphics card how to draw visual effects on screen, and compiling them ahead of time is meant to prevent stuttering during gameplay, but the process itself can take a long time and has become one of PC gaming's most widely disliked quirks. How well a game handles this varies by which store or launcher it runs through, since PC games are typically sold via digital platforms like Steam or Battle.net, each with different ways of managing downloads and background tasks.
This matters to the large community of PC players who own Call of Duty games, as long shader waits and frequent forced restarts after updates have been a recurring source of frustration with the franchise. Any changes tested in the beta offer an early signal of what to expect from the full game and could set a precedent for how future Call of Duty titles, and PC games more broadly, handle this technical hurdle.
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Originally published by Eurogamer as “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 beta may have eradicated the annoying ‘Compiling Shaders’ wait PC players loathe”.