Integrated graphics, built directly into your laptop or desktop's CPU rather than a separate graphics card, have improved enormously in recent years. Chips like Intel Iris Xe and AMD's Radeon integrated graphics found in recent Ryzen processors can comfortably run a surprising range of modern, genuinely good games. You don't need a dedicated GPU to have a great time gaming — you just need to pick the right titles.
Key takeaway: Well-optimised indie games, older-engine titles, and games with generous low-end settings can all run smoothly on modern integrated graphics; the trick is choosing games built with efficiency in mind rather than the latest graphically demanding blockbusters.
What to look for
Games that run well on integrated graphics tend to share a few traits: stylised or lower-fidelity art styles rather than photorealism, smaller-scale environments rather than sprawling open worlds, and engines specifically optimised for a wide range of hardware. Turn-based, strategy, and story-driven games are also generally friendlier to integrated graphics than fast-paced, graphically intensive shooters.
| Game | Genre | Why it works well |
|---|---|---|
| Hades | Action roguelike | Stylised hand-drawn art and a well-optimised engine keep demands low |
| Stardew Valley | Farming sim | Simple pixel art with minimal GPU load |
| Vampire Survivors | Bullet-heaven roguelike | Deliberately lightweight visuals designed to run on almost anything |
| Slay the Spire | Deck-building strategy | 2D card-based interface with negligible graphics demand |
| Cities: Skylines | City builder | Runs smoothly at low zoom and reduced detail settings |
| Rocket League | Sports/arcade | Highly optimised engine scales well down to integrated graphics at lower settings |
| Valheim | Survival | Stylised low-poly look achieves playable frame rates on medium/low settings |
| Celeste | Platformer | 2D pixel art runs comfortably on essentially any hardware |
Tips for the best experience
- Update your integrated graphics drivers directly from Intel's or AMD's website, since integrated graphics performance improves meaningfully with driver updates.
- Make sure your laptop is plugged in and set to "Best Performance" or "High Performance" power mode while gaming, as integrated graphics performance drops noticeably on battery-saving power plans.
- Close background applications, especially browser tabs, since integrated graphics share system RAM, and less available memory can hurt performance.
- Start with Low or Medium graphics presets and use FSR or the game's built-in resolution scale slider if frame rates still aren't smooth.
- Check that your laptop isn't accidentally running the game on the integrated GPU when it actually has a low-power dedicated GPU too (and vice versa) via your graphics driver's app-specific settings.
Tip: If you have a Ryzen laptop with recent integrated graphics, ensure your RAM is running in dual-channel mode (two RAM sticks rather than one) — integrated graphics rely on system RAM for video memory, and dual-channel can noticeably boost performance.
Before you start: Even well-optimised games can struggle on integrated graphics if your laptop only has a single stick of RAM or very little total memory — check your system's RAM configuration before assuming a game "just won't run."
Frequently asked questions
- Can integrated graphics run any AAA blockbuster games?
- Some can run on the lowest settings at reduced resolution, but generally expect the best experience from smaller-scale, well-optimised, or stylised titles rather than the most graphically demanding new releases.
- Does more RAM help integrated graphics performance?
- Yes, significantly. Integrated graphics use a portion of your system RAM as video memory, so more RAM, and RAM running in dual-channel mode, both directly improve performance.
- Is Intel Iris Xe good enough for modern gaming?
- Iris Xe handles many modern indie and moderately demanding titles reasonably well at low-to-medium settings, making it genuinely capable for a wide range of games beyond just older or 2D titles.