Cyberpunk 2077 quietly drops support for older graphics cards and Windows 7

(Image credit: CDPR)

CD Projekt dropped a major Cyberpunk 2077 update yesterday that tweaked almost everything about it, from AI behavior to new world elements, driving updates, rebalanced skills, more apartments to rent, better nail polish (yes, seriously), and a whole lot more. It's big, and hopefully it'll improve the experience in a commensurately meaningful way.

Something else that changed with the release of the 1.5 update are the Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements: Nvidia 700 series graphics cards, which were previously part of the minimum specification, are no longer supported. You're not necessarily out of luck if you've got one: Like many things in life, whether or not Cyberpunk 2077 will continue to "work" with 700 Series GPUs will depend largely on what you're willing to put up with.

"Due to the end of support for graphics drivers, we've decided to change the minimum system requirements of Nvidia graphics cards to GTX 970," CDPR said in the 1.5 patch notes. "The game won't necessarily stop functioning on said cards, however, we are no longer testing the game on Nvidia 700 Series graphics cards."

Windows 7 support for Cyberpunk 2077 has also been dropped. Again, this doesn't mean that Win7 users are immediately doomed to eviction from Night City, but the clock is ticking. (And has been for a very long time now—it really is time to upgrade, folks.)

"Due to technical limitations of non-native DirectX 12 implementation on Windows 7, and the end of, or limited, support for graphics drivers, game updates will not be supporting Windows 7 after June 15, 2022," CD Projekt said. "If updated with patches published after that time, the game may stop working on this operating system.

OS: Windows 10
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K or AMD FX-8310
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 470
DirectX: Version 12
Storage: 70 GB available space

As for what you should be playing on, you'll likely want to aim for something beefier if you can: We had some recommendations for an optimal experience back when Cyberpunk 2077 first came out and if you're just getting into the game now, they still hold up.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.