Call of Duty: MWIII Rendering Bug

[CheeseOwl]

This issue has been around for quite a while. I searched the community and saw that someone had reported it before, but that thread seems to have been closed for some reason.

Here’s what’s happening: I’m using an Arc B580 to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. Everything worked perfectly fine with all drivers before version 32.0.101.6972. But after updating to 6972, the game became completely unplayable.

All 3D scenes, including the main menu, the in-game environment, and even the performance benchmark, are rendered as a flat gray screen. However, the UI elements like health bar, weapon icons, and mini-map still display normally.

I tested this thoroughly — it’s not related to shader preloading (I waited for it to finish), and it’s not related to graphics settings either — I tried every possible configuration. I also verified the game files and even reinstalled the game, but the issue remained the same.

After some driver testing, I found that version 6913 is the last one that works properly. Starting from 6972 and all later versions, including the latest 8135, the game shows the same gray rendering bug.

Interestingly, I don’t own the full version of Call of Duty: MWII, but I tested its free DMZ mode just to compare, and everything runs perfectly fine there — no rendering issues at all — on both 6913 and 8135, as well as most drivers in between.

All my games are purchased and installed via Steam.

Here’s my system setup:
CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F
Motherboard: Maxsun B760M D4
Memory: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz
GPU: Intel Arc B580 Graphics
Monitor: 1080p 165Hz
Storage: KIOXIA SSD 2TB
Power Supply: Huntkey 650W (80+ Bronze)

Since the log and screenshot files are too large to attach here, I’ve uploaded them to Google Drive. Each file name matches the corresponding driver version.
8135.mp4 - Google 云端硬盘
6913.mp4 - Google 云端硬盘

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi CheeseOwl,

Thank you for the detailed report about the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III rendering issue with your Intel Arc B580. I understand how frustrating this must be, especially since you've identified that the problem started specifically with driver version 32.0.101.6972 and persists through all subsequent versions including the latest 32.0.101.8135.

Your systematic testing approach is excellent - you've clearly isolated this to a driver-specific issue affecting MWIII while MWII DMZ mode works perfectly. The fact that all 3D scenes render as flat gray while UI elements display normally suggests a specific rendering pipeline issue introduced in the 6972 drivers.

I appreciate you providing the Google Drive links with the comparison videos showing the difference between working (6913) and broken (8135) driver versions. This visual evidence is extremely valuable for our analysis.

Before we proceed with further investigation, I'd like to confirm one important troubleshooting step:

Clean Driver Installation: Have you performed a clean installation of the latest driver using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller)? Sometimes driver remnants from previous versions can cause specific rendering issues.

If not, please try:

1. Download DDU: https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html
2. Latest Driver: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/785597/intel-arc-graphics-windows.html (Version 32.0.101.8135)

Clean Installation Process:

• Boot into Safe Mode
• Run DDU to completely remove all Intel graphics drivers
• Restart normally
• Install the latest driver version 32.0.101.8135
• Test Call of Duty: MWIII

This appears to be a specific regression in the Intel Arc driver affecting MWIII's rendering engine. Your detailed documentation will be valuable for me to investigate and potentially address in future driver updates.

Please let me know if you've tried the DDU clean installation, and we can proceed with the next steps based on those results.

Best regards, 

Dean R. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[CheeseOwl]

Hi Dean,

Thanks for the quick response. Yes, I always perform a full clean driver installation using DDU in Safe Mode before installing any new driver — both when upgrading and when rolling back.

I also tried clearing the shader cache while running DDU in Safe Mode, but unfortunately that didn’t make any difference.

[NagyAkos512]

Hi OP and Intel Arc Support Team!

I just wanted to say that dozens of other B580 users, including myself have exactly this issue. This issue was mentioned on Reddit 2 months ago, and since than many people reported this issue here on the forum.

As far as i know, the issue is on Activision's side, however, since using older driver versions, this indicates that something went wrong in the never drivers and MW3 engine if I understand it correctly.

My friend has an RTX 4060ti and doesn't have this issue, while my neighbour and myself both have B580 Arc, and face exactly the same issue as OP.

Please report this bug to the dev team, because already dozens of Arc users posted about this on Reddit, and a few here on the forum, and its been 2 months without a fix. I would like to thank the Arc Team for their efforts, I understand its not easy to report and fix many many issues, but users are here to help!

Best wishes,

Ákos

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi CheeseOwl,

Thank you for confirming that you've already performed clean DDU installations, that's exactly the thorough approach I'd expect from someone who's done such systematic testing. I really appreciate that you've also tried clearing the shader cache during the DDU process, which shows you've covered all the standard troubleshooting bases.

I also want to acknowledge NagyAkos512's input, it's very helpful to know that this issue is affecting multiple Arc B580 users and has been reported across different platforms for about two months now. This kind of community feedback is invaluable for understanding the scope of the problem.

The fact that this is specifically affecting Arc B580 users while other GPU brands work fine, combined with your precise identification of driver version 32.0.101.6972 as the starting point of this regression, gives us a clear timeline to work with. Your comparison showing that MWII DMZ mode works perfectly while MWIII has the gray screen rendering issue is particularly interesting from a technical standpoint.

To help me investigate this further and potentially escalate this to our development team for a more permanent solution, could you provide an Intel SSU (System Support Utility) report? This would give me comprehensive system information that might reveal additional factors contributing to this rendering issue.

You can download the SSU tool here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005567/processors.html

The combination of your detailed testing, the video evidence you've provided, and the community reports suggests this is a significant driver regression that needs attention. With the SSU data, I'll have everything needed to properly document this issue for investigation.

I understand how frustrating it must be to have a game that worked perfectly suddenly become unplayable due to a driver update, especially when you've done everything right on your end. Let's get this properly investigated so I can work toward a solution.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[CheeseOwl]

I’m happy to provide the SSU report if it helps with the investigation. However, since the SSU file contains some personal system details, I’d prefer to share it through a private or secure channel instead of posting it publicly here. Could you please open a private message or provide a support case link where I can upload it safely?

Also, just to confirm, do you need the SSU generated under the problematic driver (for example 32.0.101.8135), or the one currently installed (32.0.101.6913)? I can provide both if needed.

Thanks again for your time and support!

[DeancR_Intel]

Hi CheeseOwl,

Thank you for your willingness to provide the SSU report to help with our investigation. I completely understand your concern about sharing personal system details publicly, and I appreciate your security-conscious approach.

I will send you a private email shortly with secure instructions for sharing the SSU report. This will allow you to provide the system information safely without posting it in the public forum.

Look for my private email shortly with the secure upload instructions.

Best regards,

Dean R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[CheeseOwl]

Hi Dean,

Just to update — I’ve already sent the SSU reports to your email as requested.
I also wanted to mention that the SSU link in the original post was incorrect (it led to Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool).
The correct SSU download link is here:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/18377/intel-system-support-utility-for-windows.html

For reference:
Driver 6913 — works normally.
Driver 6972 and 8136 — both have the gray screen rendering issue in MWIII.

Thanks again for following up on this.

— CheeseOwl