Astronomically high Forspoken system requirements demand a GeForce RTX 4080 and 32 GB of RAM for 4K 60 FPS

Much like many AAA launches of late, Square Enix and Luminous Productions’ Forspoken has been delayed multiple times. The developers did, however, use this time to demonstrate AMD FidelityFX’s ease-of-use and DirectStorage capabilities. The game, set to launch on January 24 on PC and PlayStation 5, will need all the processing power it can get due to its absurdly demanding system requirements.

• Resolution/framerate: 720p 30 FPS
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600/Intel Core i7-3770
• Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT/Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB
• Memory: 16 GB

While any PC built in the past four years should have a relatively easy time running Forspoken, the experience will be less than optimal and one would be better off playing it on console instead. The requirements get even more egregious once the visual fidelity goes up.

• Resolution/framerate: 1440p 30 FPS
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600/Intel Core i7-8700K
• Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT/Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
• Memory: 24 GB

Square Enix’s decision to not list the requirements for a 1080p 60 FPS experience is frustrating, given it is what will be sought after by most gamers. Furthermore, the 24 GB RAM requirement is puzzling as it isn’t exactly a standard amount found in most rigs.

• Resolution/framerate: 2160p 60 FPS
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X/Intel Core i7-12700K
• Graphics card: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT/Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080
• Memory: 32 GB

At this point, it is abundantly clear that Forspoken is heavily optimized for AMD graphics cards, given the requirements shoot up greatly when Team Green’s hardware is involved. The game will take up at least 150 GB of hard drive space and will run on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. Some PC-centric features include support for up to 32:9 ultrawide monitors, Windows 11 Auto HDR, DualSense/DualShock controllers, 7.1 Audio and dynamic refresh rate.

Earlier this week, Hogwarts Legacyanother open world title, also demanded 32 GB of system memory for a top-tier 4K experience. However, its entry-level requirements were far lower and it could even run on the Steam Deck. While Square Enix’s PC ports have been getting better of late, Forspoken could be the exception. Its PS5 version isn’t much better off either, with its resolution reportedly dropping to 720p in some scenes.

Pre-order Forspoken for the PlayStation 5 on Amazon

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Anneal Replace – Senior Tech Writer – 1240 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2019

I’ve been an avid PC gamer since the age of 8. My passion for gaming eventually pushed me towards general tech, and I got my first writing gig at the age of 19. I have a degree in mechanical engineering and have worked in the manufacturing industry and a few other publications like Wccftech before joining Notebookcheck in November 2019. I cover a variety of topics including smartphones, gaming, and computer hardware.