Forspoken's PC requirements are out and actually kinda weird

(Image credit: Square Enix)

The full PC system requirement for Forspoken, Square Enix's next big action-RPG, have been released. The minimum requirements are mercifully modest, if occasionally nonsensical, kicking off with Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD RX 5500 XT graphics as a minimum. Intriguingly, DirectStorage support from launch has also been confirmed.

Entry-level requirements on the CPU side start at AMD's Ryzen 5 1600 from some six years ago or Intel's similarly vintage Core i7 3770. You'll be wanting minimum 16GB of RAM and 150GB of storage. All that nets you the rather modest result of 30fps at just 720p res. Youch.

To achieve 30fps at 1440p, Square Enix reckons you'll need at least an AMD RX 6700 XT or Nvidia RTX 3070, which is quite a step up. CPU specs are upped to AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7 8700K, while the recommended RAM spec for this performance level is a slightly implausible 24GB.

For the full 4K@60fps experience, make that AMD RX 6800 XT or Nvidia RTX 4080, which is a rather odd equivalence in GPU power. Y'know, because those GPUs are not at all equivalent.

Anywho, it's arguably some of the other tidbits in the accompanying release that are of more interest. For starters, Microsoft's DirectStorage tech is listed as a day one feature. You won't even need a bleeding edge NVMe SSD to try it, even if one is recommended.

Elsewhere in the feature list, "customizable resolutions, aspect ratios and graphic features" are mentioned along with specific support for ultrawide 32:9 aspect ratio monitors.

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Also on the list is "Auto HDR", which should mean you won't need to toggle HDR in the Windows settings dialogue before firing Forspoken up, which is a minor mercy.

All of which means we're kinda excited for Forspoken's 24 Jan release date to really see how it performs on the PC. You can pre-order now on Steam for a piffling $69.99 / £64.99. Yeah, games are expensive now.

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Jeremy has been writing about technology and PCs since the 90nm Netburst era (Google it!) and enjoys nothing more than a serious dissertation on the finer points of monitor input lag and overshoot followed by a forensic examination of advanced lithography. Or maybe he just likes machines that go “ping!” He also has a thing for tennis and cars.