STALKER 2 system requirements will make your SSD go nuclear

GSC Game World has released its finalised STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl system requirements, ahead of the game’s launch on November 20. As expected, it’s a demanding game at higher resolutions and graphics settings but also in its storage requirements. Thankfully, in a spot of good news, the game will run on surprisingly old hardware too.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of each specification, it’s worth acknowledging that all tiers require 160GB of storage on an solid-state drive. This is one of the largest footprints we’ve seen among recent releases, but it does thankfully fall shy of God of War: Ragnarok. Regardless, make sure you clear up some space on the best SSD you have before installing STALKER 2.

Starting from the bottom up, you’ll need an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB, or Intel Arc A750 graphics card at minimum to get the game running. That’s not forgetting a processor akin to Intel Core i7-7700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X too. This combo should net performance in the region of 30fps at 1080p, which while enough for a playable experience won’t do well to aid your chances of survival in the Zone.

To hit 60fps at the same resolution, you’ll need to jump up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. The former is close to the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s graphics, likely providing a console-like experience in terms of visual fidelity and performance. For a more modern reference point, though, GSC Game World points to Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060. However, CPU demands jump to octa-core chips on this front, with Intel Core i7-9700K and AMD Ryzen 7 3700X. Thankfully, you’ll only need 16GB of RAM regardless of which of the two aforementioned specs you aim for.

Moving up to the game’s recommended spec ‘High’, the hardware floor rises sharply once again. While you won’t need the best graphics card here, we’re getting close. GSC Game World pegs AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, and RTX 4070 for its picks. Meanwhile, CPUs with calibre comparable to Core i7-11700 and Ryzen 7 5800X pack enough processing grunt. It’s here that memory demands increase to 32GB too. All together, expect 60fps at 1440p with components like these.

For the ultimate STALKER 2 experience, at 4K and frame rates of 60fps and beyond, you’ll need as close to the ultimate system as you can muster. Such performance and visual splendour requires gargantuan graphics cards, specifically Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX. You’ll find some breathing room when it comes to processors, with the likes of Intel Core i7-13700KF and AMD Ryzen 7 7700X. It’s unclear why GSC Game World specifies the KF SKU, as Core i7-13700K should be just as capable.

STALKER 2 supports the entire DLSS 3 suite, which will be invaluable according to benchmarks by Nvidia. At 4K, max settings, combined with an Intel Core i9-14900K, even GeForce RTX 4090 struggles to hit 60fps without it. However, with frame generation and super resolution enabled, it zooms past 120fps.

It’s worth noting this is without ray tracing, which will arrive via a post-launch patch. Nonetheless, owners of GeForce GTX and Radeon RX graphics cards have AMD FSR 3.1 at their disposal to boost performance.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl launches November 20 on PC and Xbox Series consoles. It’ll be available to play via Xbox Game Pass upon release, but three separate versions are available to purchase from the Microsoft Store and Steam, starting from £49.99.