Starfield system requirements: you're gonna need a 125GB cargo hold

Starfield's shipbuilding tool screens and customisation

(Image credit: Bethesda)

If you've been struggling to manage your PC storage in the last year or two, you might want to look away now: Starfield's system requirements demand 125GB of your SSD, making it the data equivalent of a red giant. Remarkably, this isn't the largest game we've seen recently: Jedi Survivor required a whopping 155GB of storage, adding a whole Prey on top of what Starfield asks of your drive. But it still puts it firmly in the category of +100GB games, which is becoming the norm for PC gaming blockbusters.

Potential Starfielders should also note the phrase "SSD required" in the requirements. So if you're still mucking about with a drive that requires—gasp—moving parts, time to toss it out the window and grab yourself a li'l data brick.

Meaty girth aside, Starfield's system requirements are otherwise reasonable. Minimum requirements demand an Intel Core i7 6800K or AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, and a Nvidia GTX 1070 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 5700. To get optimal performance, you'll need an Intel i5 10600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, and a Radeon RX 6800 XT or Nvidia RTX 2080. That's more or less my current rig, which I built back in 2019. On paper, therefore, Starfield shouldn't be too demanding, although as we've seen with numerous games recently, that's no guarantee it will run well.