Intel’s Alder Lake lineup launched last month with some expected issues, and Windows DRM incompatibility rendered over 50 games unplayable when using the new chip. Thankfully, Intel and Microsoft have cooked up a fix for the chip’s DRM related drawbacks, meaning the majority of your Steam library should play nice with 12th gen CPUs.
According to Intel’s support page, only three out of the original 51 affected games are still experiencing Alder Lake DRM issues; Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Fernbus Simulator, and Madden 22. The update post doesn’t specify whether or not a fix is in the works for the remaining entries, but the shortlist will change subject to patch releases.
Of course, if you’re rocking one of the big blue’s best gaming CPUs and you’re looking to run this troublesome trio of games, you can still use last month’s scroll lock workaround. While this fix involves turning on Legacy Game Compatibility BIOS settings, MSI and Gigabyte have simplified things by enabling players to toggle compatibility mode on and off with a button.
Alder Lake is already a hit with gaming PC enthusiasts and builders alike, but this latest fix could entice more users to the 12th gen fold. If Intel plays its cards right, its new processors and upcoming Arc Alchemist graphics cards could help it cover more ground than ever before.
That said, Nvidia’s got an armada of GPUs on the way, including a new RTX 4000 series lineup, and AMD’s Ryzen Zen 4 could thwart Intel’s efforts in snatching the CPU crown.