Microsoft is moving to a new Universal Drivers architecture starting with Windows 10 October 2018 Update,and Intel has released the first version of its graphics drivers that that conform to Microsoft's new specs, in a shift in the Intel Graphics Drivers.

Modern Windows Drivers (also called Universal Windows Drivers or UWD) are driver packages that will install and run on Universal Windows Platform (UWP) based editions of Windows 10.

Microsoft enabled the Universal Windows drivers package in order to allow developers to create a single driver package that runs across multiple different device types, from embedded systems to tablets and desktop PCs.

Earlier this year, Intel introduced a feature in the Graphics Control Panel to automatically tune game settings for Intel Graphics on 6th Generation Intel Core Processors or higher (including 8th Generation Intel Core Processors with Radeon RX Vega M Graphics). Today, the company is adding new capabilities and supporting more games.

Intel's new UWD drivers aren't backward compatible with the company's previous graphics drivers now labeled as Legacy. This means if later you want to revert to a Legacy driver you will need to uninstall the driver via Windows Apps and Features and reboot the system before installing a Legacy driver. Failure to do so may result in minor to major system instability.

What’s new (full release notes)

• Rescan button to detect newly installed games without having to restart the system
• 12 newly supported games with more to come:
• Fallout 4
• Far Cry 5
• FIFA 18
• Paladins
• Path of Exile
• The Sims 4
• SMITE
• Borderlands 2
• Euro Truck Simulator 2
• PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS
• Rocket League
• Witcher 3
  
• Automatic Game Tuning Feature Updates.
• Reduces RAM consumption when using Open GL.
• Improves battery life when using Display Refresh Rate Switching (DRRS) on supported monitors.
• Vulkan Driver Stability Improvements.
  

Supported OS versions

• Microsoft Windows 10-64 - Fall Creators Update
• Microsoft Windows 10-64 - April 2018 Update
• Microsoft Windows 10-64 - October 2018 Update

Only the Intel Graphics Controllers listed below will receive an update to Modern Windows Drivers:

• Intel UHD Graphics 620/630 (formerly codenamed Coffee Lake)
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 (formerly codenamed Coffee Lake)
• Intel UHD Graphics 600/605 (formerly codenamed Gemini Lake)
• Intel HD Graphics 620/630 (formerly codenamed Kaby Lake)
• Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640/650 (formerly codenamed Kaby Lake)
• Intel HD Graphics 610/615 (formerly codenamed Gemini Lake)
  
• Intel HD Graphics 500/505 (formerly codenamed Apollo Lake)
• Intel HD Graphics 510/515/520/530 (formerly codenamed Skylake)
• Intel Iris Pro Graphics 580 (formerly codenamed Skylake)
• Intel Iris Graphics 540 (formerly codenamed Skylake)

As a note, following the new driver package download, DO NOT use the INF / Have-Disk method to install or uninstall the driver as it bypasses the Intel installer designed to install these new drivers.

In addition, this Windows Modern driver requires an Internet connection for Windows to automatically download the Intel Graphics Control Panel from the Microsoft Store.