After the recent Starfield Direct showcase, it’s evident that Bethesda’s upcoming game, Starfield, boasts impressive gameplay and features. However, the revealed system requirements have raised eyebrows and may not accurately reflect the actual specifications needed to play the game. The peculiarities of these requirements are reflective of advising caution before making any hasty decisions about purchasing a new PC solely for Starfield.
Some of the PC requirements seen across Starfield’s Steam page seem too demanding, just like the SSD Requirement. Although SSDs today are really affordable, there are many players still relying on HDDs. Surprisingly, the Xbox website listing does not mention this requirement, leaving room for confusion and further clarification from Bethesda.
The recommended specs state the need for an Intel Core i7 6800K processor. However, this specific chip is not a regular consumer-grade Skylake generation processor but rather an X-series HEDT processor that had limited popularity upon its release. To align with more commonly available CPUs, likely, a Core 8600K, Core 8700K, or newer Coffee Lake generation processor would suffice.
According to Bethesda, a spacious 125GB of storage is necessary to accommodate Starfield’s installation. What’s intriguing is that the minimum specifications explicitly state that an SSD is essential, which is rather uncommon. While HDDs tend to be slower, it remains unusual to encounter solid state storage listed as a specific mandatory requirement.
Starfield recommends a minimum of 16GB of system memory, which aligns with the increasing trend in big AAA games. While 8GB may still suffice in many games, opting for 16GB ensures better performance and future-proofing.
The inconsistencies and ambiguities in the recommended system specifications suggest an incomplete or rough-cut draft. It is important not to take these requirements at face value just yet, as final performance expectations are often established closer to the game’s launch. With Starfield confirmed to run at 30 fps on current consoles, it is likely a reliance on upscaling technologies to deliver smoother performance at higher frame rates and 4K resolutions.
