"Forspoken" has high PC system requirements, making it difficult for some PC gamers to play the game at launch.
With just a week until its launch, Forspoken has revealed its PC system requirements, which are quite demanding. Players will need a high-end system to play the game at 720p 30fps with a GTX 1060, while 4K will require the latest from Nvidia and AMD’s high-end GPUs. Forspoken is a new IP by Square Enix and is one of the first current-gen-only games in a year that will likely see many PS5-exclusive titles as the industry moves away from last-gen hardware. It was initially reported that the game would take advantage of Microsoft’s new DirectStorage API on Windows 11, but Square Enix has been quiet on the matter since mid-2022.
In a recent developer presentation, Square Enix revealed the final PC system requirements for Forspoken, which will be launching soon. The requirements are quite demanding, with a minimum 720p 30fps experience requiring an Nvidia GTX 1060 or a Radeon RX 5500 XT GPU paired with an Intel i7-3770 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600 CPU. For a high-end 4K 60fps experience, a recently launched RTX 4080 or a last-gen Radeon 6800 XT is required. The requirements at the high-end are questionable as the 6800 XT is similar in performance to an RTX 3080, but fans should wait for official benchmarks at release to get a better understanding of the game's performance.
Square Enix has released a PC Features Highlight video for Forspoken, showcasing features such as ultrawide screen support, keyboard and mouse support and AMD FSR 2.0 support. However, there is no mention of DirectStorage integration on PC, and players have raised concerns about the inclusion of the controversial Denuvo DRM in the game. With launch just a week away, players will soon see if Forspoken's high system requirements are worth it. However, the recent PS5 demo shows that the game may not be well optimized even on current-gen consoles. As reported by Digital Foundry, the game regularly upscales from a sub-1080p image in order to reach 60fps on the PS5 performance mode. It also struggles to reach native 1440p and 4K even on the higher resolution quality modes. As the industry shifts towards new hardware, it's possible that performance issues and high system requirements are just a part of the transition to a new generation.
Forspoken launches January 24, 2023, for PC and PS5.
