Now that Bethesda and Xbox have revealed that Starfield preloads on Xbox and Windows Store will begin on August 17, the updated requirement minimum and recommended PC specs have also been revealed, and they tell quite a tale.
While we had assumed that the entry-level to play Starfield on the PC would be high, from what I’m seeing from the specs that were available on the Xbox Store app for PC, they’re quite tame. Sure, both require 16GB of RAM, but at this point, that’s what most gaming PCs have installed. However, the CPUs required mild, and both the minimum and recommended are asking for CPUs that I’m sure most gaming PCs already have installed.
Granted, these specs are for 720p 30 FPS and 1080p FPS gaming; respectfully, we haven’t seen what it takes to run Starfield at 1440p or 4K. Still, I’m sure we’ll get a grand announcement about this and a launch trailer telling us what we’ll need for greater visual fidelity. Outside of that, it’s been noted on the same Xbox Store app for PC that the game will require 140GB and an SSD, which is relatively more than some of the specs we’ve seen floating around on the Internet. So, if you don’t have an SSD, it’s time to upgrade to one.
Still, these requirements fall within what we’ve seen from most AAA PC games released in 2023. Given the game’s scope, I expected them to be much more.
What we still don’t know yet is if the game will support Ultrawide monitors or HOTAS. Given that this is a space simulator, I’d really hope HOTAS are on the list. However, seeing how Starfield is running on Bethesda’s creation engine, albeit overhauled, there’s some concern. The creation engine hasn’t been friendly to anything outside of the 4:3/16:9 ratio, and we haven’t heard any chatter about Ultrawide monitor support. So, at this point, we don’t have any idea if the game will support them or not. Still, one can hope.
But enough rambling. Check out the Starfield PC requirements below.
Starfield PC Minimum Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 version 19043.0 or higher
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6800K
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700, NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 140 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD Required
Starfield PC Recommended Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 version 19043.0 or higher
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X, Intel i5-10600K
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 140 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD Required
Starfield releases on Xbox platforms and PC on September 6th, 2023. If you purchase the Digital Premium Edition, Premium Edition Upgrade, or Constellation Edition, you’ll be able to play the game five days early, on September 1st, 2023.