Vulkan API 1.4 released with new required extensions, better 8K rendering

The Khronos Group have today announced the release of the Vulkan 1.4 API specification, with various changes and improvements for game and application developers.

In the announcement it notes that "Mesa open-source Linux drivers have passed Vulkan 1.4 conformance on AMD, Apple, Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm hardware" already. Looking on the conformant driver list, even the Steam Deck is already listed as supporting Vulkan 1.4. On the NVIDIA side, they have a Linux 550.40.81 Vulkan Beta release available with Vulkan 1.4 support.

New features as noted include:

• Streaming Transfers: Vulkan 1.4 imposes new implementation requirements to ensure portable, cross-platform applications can stream large quantities of data to a device while simultaneously rendering at full performance.
• Previously optional extensions and features critical to emerging high-performance applications are now mandatory in Vulkan 1.4, ensuring their reliable availability across multiple platforms. These include push descriptors, dynamic rendering local reads, and scalar block layouts.
• Maintenance extensions up to and including VK_KHR_maintenance6 are now part of the core Vulkan 1.4 specification.
• 8K rendering with up to eight separate render targets is now guaranteed to be supported, along with several other limit increases.

From the press release:

“Vulkan 1.4 is a developer-driven update that enhances Vulkan's value as a stable, reliable framework for creating graphics-intensive applications on any platform,” said Tom Olson, outgoing Vulkan Working Group Chair. “As I step down, I'm proud to see the groundwork we’ve laid through our roadmaps come to fruition. Our roadmap milestone plans have empowered developers with new levels of flexibility and performance, setting Vulkan on a path for continued innovation and broader adoption in the years to come.”

“Vulkan 1.4 is a milestone release that directly brings long-requested features and proven extensions into the core standard. By mandating these capabilities, we are enhancing Vulkan’s flexibility and performance across a wider range of devices, making it easier for developers to create cutting-edge applications with confidence that they will run reliably on any platform," said Ralph Potter, newly elected Vulkan Working Group Chair.

See more in the announcement.