Total War: Warhammer 2 system requirements revealed

Total War: Warhammer 2 is still a month away from release, but has nonetheless already become "the most preordered Total War game to date," developer Creative Assembly announced today. More usefully, it also revealed details about the sort of hardware you'll need to actually run it.

PC building guides

Need a new PC for Total War: Warhammer 2? Check out our build guides:

Budget gaming PC
(~$750/£750) - A good entry-level system.
Mid-range gaming PC
(~$1,250/£1,250) - Our recommended build for most gamers.
High-end gaming PC
(~$2,000/£2,000) - Everything a gamer could want.
Extreme gaming PC
(>$3,000/£3,000) - You won the lotto and are going all-in on gaming.

Prefer to buy a prebuilt than building it yourself? Check out our guide to the Best Gaming PCs.

To the numbers!

Minimum (Expected around 25-35 FPS on campaign map and in a 1v1, 20 units vs 20 units battle, default graphics preset set to “Low”, running at 1280×720):

Operating System: Windows 7 64 Bit
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0Ghz
RAM: 4GB/5GB*
Install size: 60 GB
Video Card: Nvidia GTX 460 1GB | AMD Radeon HD 5770 1GB | Intel HD4000 @ 720p (*PC integrated graphics chipsets, e.g. Intel HD series, will require 5GB system RAM)

Recommended (Expected around 45-55 FPS on campaign map and in a 1v1, 20 units vs 20 units battle, default graphics preset set to “High”, running at 1920×1080):

Operating System: Windows 7/8.1/10 64 Bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-4570 3.20GHz
RAM: 8 GB
Install size: 60 GB
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 2GB | AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB @1080P

60+ fps (Expected 60 FPS+ on campaign map and in a 1v1, 20 units vs 20 units battle, default graphics preset set to “Ultra”, running at 1920×1080):

Operating System: Windows 7/8.1/10 64 Bit
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0 GHz
RAM: 8 GB
Install size: 60 GB
Video Card: Nvidia GTX 1070 8GB

Playing at the minimum spec doesn't sound like it'll be the greatest gaming experience of all time, but there will be a good range of individual graphical settings to play with so you'll be able to balance visual fidelity and performance as you see fit. Creative Assembly also pointed out, in case you weren't aware, that "all systems perform differently," and that all of the above "should be taken as a guide rather than an absolute." And even though Warhammer 2 is now very close to release, it is still undergoing optimizations and the specs are thus subject to change.

Total War: Warhammer 2 is set to come out on September 28. To absolutely nobody's surprise, the verminous Skaven were recently confirmed as the game's fourth race, joining the High Elves, Dark Elves, and Lizardmen. They sound wholly unpleasant.

TOPICS

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.