Microsoft graphical API collection DirectX 11 launches commercially later this month with Windows 7, and is expected to bring huge benefits to PC gamers and developers alike.

Though it's weeks away, developer Phenomic is already on top of it, having released a patch for BattleForge to support it a couple days ago which you can grab through the game's updater.

So, for those of you that happen to have ATI's latest card, the the HD 5870, you can actually test out the new tech immediately (BattleForge is free to play), assuming you're running on the Windows 7 RC, or if you're special, the RTM edition.

Phenomic illustrates what to expect:

The game will demonstrate a higher level of performance for the same processing power, which in turn allows more to be done with the game graphically. In layman’s terms the game will have a higher frame rate and new ways of creating graphical effects, such as shadows and lighting. The culmination of all of this is a game that both runs and looks better.

Enjoy!