linux-drivers/
drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gvt

Intel GVT-g mediated GPU passthrough for older integrated graphics

Intel GVT-g is a GPU virtualization technology that slices a single Intel integrated GPU (Broadwell through 11th Gen Rocket Lake, up to early 2021) into multiple virtual GPUs handed to KVM guests. It was used for cloud gaming, VDI, and developer setups that wanted accelerated graphics in VMs without dedicating a whole GPU per guest.

keep-annotate conf=0.81 last_sold=2021 deploy=low replacement=none subsystem=gpu category=virtualization
81%

recommendation

Worth keeping but flagging as legacy because the code still receives small fixes and refactors into 2025-2026 and the build options remain in mainline, but Intel itself has moved newer integrated GPUs to SR-IOV and confines GVT-g to Core generations up through Rocket Lake (Q1 2021). No upstream removal discussion is visible, so the right move is to leave it in for users still running those older host CPUs while documenting that it is a sunset technology with no path forward on newer hardware.

repository signals

41 files
23,846 source lines
291 commits, 5y
+3,094 / −5,294 lines added / removed, 5y
62 authors, 5y
monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 291 total · active in 54/61 months
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sources

  1. intel.com

    Intel's 2026 support matrix says newer Intel graphics virtualization moved to SR-IOV, while GVT-g applies only to older families up through 11th Gen Rocket Lake / 10th / 9th / earlier listed Core generations.

  2. intel.com

    Intel lists 11th Gen Core (Rocket Lake) launch date as Q1 2021, making the last GVT-g-capable mainstream desktop generation a 2021 launch.

  3. cateee.net

    LKDDb shows CONFIG_DRM_I915_GVT remains present in current kernels and describes it as Intel GVT-g host support for Broadwell+ integrated graphics virtualization.

  4. cateee.net

    LKDDb shows the paired KVM/VFIO host module still exists in current kernels, indicating the feature is still buildable upstream for legacy deployments.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local shell evidence: `git -c safe.directory=/nas4/data/workspace/personal/linux-drivers/.kernel-snapshot log --since=2024-01-01 -- drivers/gpu/drm/i915/gvt` showed ongoing 2025-2026 fixes/refactors, so this is not abandoned. Web `search_query` + `open` on Intel KB 000093216 and 000099655 established that GVT-g is for older Intel iGPU generations and newer virtualization moved to SR-IOV, with the newest listed GVT-g generation launching in Q1 2021. Web `search_query` + `open` on LKDDb pages confirmed the kernel options/modules still exist. Separate web searches for lore removal/deprecation terms returned no hits, so I do not see active upstream removal talk from available tools. Result: keep upstream for legacy VM-host niches, but annotate as legacy/obsolete rather than remove.