Before there was Assassin's Creed Shadows there was Rise of the Ronin, revealed in 2022 as a "combat focused open-world action RPG" set in 19th century Japan near the end of the Tokugawa period. Although it was announced as a "PlayStation 5 console exclusive," we speculated that it would come to PC too, and we were right—just a little ahead of ourselves: Team Ninja said today that Rise of the Ronin will come to PC on March 10, 2025 (or maybe March 11, depending on your time zone), a year after its initial PS5 release.
As a ronin—a samurai without a master, something I learned from the X-Files—players will forge their destinies through choices and encounters with a range of historical figures and factions, leading to multiple possible endings in a open world set during the Bakumatsu period, when western powers began exerting influence over the Japanese nation.
But Rise of the Ronin is no strategy sim: It's developed by Koei Tecmo's Team Ninja, developer of the Nioh and Ninja Gaiden games, and so you'll also be dropping a lot of bodies using numerous melee weapons and multiple combat styles, along with guns and bows that must be used "strategically according to the situation."
The PS5 version of Rise of the Ronin was well received, holding a 76/100 aggregate rating on Metacritic, and the PC version promises an array of exclusive enhancements:
- 8K resolution support
- DirectX 12 Ultimate support
- Ultra-wide and super ultra-wide monitor compatibility
- 120FPS support
- Ray tracing support
- 3D audio support
- Customizable keyboard and mouse controls
- AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution support
- Nvidia DLSS and Reflex support
- UI menu with mouse clickability
- Intel XeSS graphics technology support
8K resolutions and ray tracing are great (and this will no doubt be the best-looking Rise of the Ronin you're ever going to see) but for my money, as someone who played through Elden Ring with a mouse and keyboard, it's the "mouse clickability" that really carries the day here. Hey, I'm a simple man with simple needs.
The Rise of the Ronin PC system requirements are pretty simple too, although that 180GB drive space footprint is an eye popper. Here's what you'll need to play:
Minimum
- OS: Windows 10, Windows 11, 64bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600
- RAM: 16GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (VRAM 6GB) or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT (VRAM 8GB)
- Storage: 180GB
- Sound: 16-bit stereo with 48KHz playback
- DirectX: DirectX 12 or higher
Additional information: SSD required. Poor SSD performance may affect gameplay. Multi-channel memory architecture recommended. This game is expected to run at 1080p/30FPS under the lowest graphics settings (upscaled). Frame Generation can be used to increase FPS.
Recommended
- OS: Windows 10, Windows 11, 64bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5-10600K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
- RAM: 16GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super (VRAM 8GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6700XT (VRAM 12GB)
- Storage: 180GB
- Sound: 16-bit stereo with 48KHz playback
- DirectX: DirectX 12 or higher
Additional information: SSD required, NVMe SSD recommended. Multi-channel memory architecture recommended. This game is expected to run at 1080p/60FPS under the standard graphics settings (upscaled). Frame Generation can be used to increase FPS.
Rise of the Ronin on PC is available for pre-purchase now on Steam.
