Intel could announce its first gaming graphics card, the Xe HPG, as early as March 26.

That's when the company will launch the Xe HPG Scavenger Hunt, which appears to be an alternative reality game (ARG) based on revealing the highly anticipated Intel graphics project.

GPU inventory shortages have left PC gamers unable to find a place to purchase the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 and other recent graphics cards. The same is true for the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, which went on sale this week and sold out quickly.

While it is unlikely that Intel will actually release the Xe HPG GPU on March 26, there will be a hunger for M.I.A. Nvidia and AMD graphics card alternatives.

Intel's scavenger hunt site itself was discovered after the processor giant dropped some puzzling clues; VideoCardz found binary code hidden in Intel's GDC 2021 video, and Wccftech readers discovered that it was Intel's IP address leading to the site, which was deciphered.

Interestingly, this binary code was not the only obvious clue in the video. There was also a seven-digit alphanumeric code that flashed just before the binary string appeared, which remains unsolved for now. It reads 79.0731W, but could this be a scrambled code or something simpler, such as "31W" referring to the 31st week of the year?

Perhaps we will find out when the search begins on March 26. It is another mystery, though, as there are no hints as to what the hunt means beyond that participants will eventually be able to enter a "secret code."

What we know so far about the Xe HPG is that it is a gaming GPU version of the Intel Xe, a complete overhaul of Intel's graphics architecture. Integrated Xe graphics are already available in some notebooks, but the Xe HPG is expected to be the basis for more powerful dedicated graphics cards.

So far, Intel has only confirmed that Xe HPG will be available in 2021 and will support ray tracing, a feature shared with Nvidia's GeForce RTX 30 series and AMD's Radeon RX 6000 series. Unofficially, Intel's GPUs are expected to use GDDR6 video memory and have enough scalability to drive graphics cards at various price points.

We will keep you posted on any major developments in the Xe HPG Scavenger Hunt. In the meantime, those who have not yet given up hope can check out where to buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 and where to buy the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti.