Back in March, Forspoken, which was the first title set to receive Microsoft"s DirectStorage API support was shown off yielding very impressive numbers. In some instances, the new storage API was up to 70% better than legacy technology. However, the title kept getting delayed over and over until Square Enix finally settled on a release date.
Now, a week ahead of the launch, the PC system requirements for the new title have been shared by the developers, which you can see in the image below:
The CPU and GPU requirements seem, at first glance, fairly reasonable as an Nvidia GTX 1060 / RX 5500 XT alongside 3rd Gen Core i7 / 1st Gen Ryzen 5, are the minimum recommended specs. However, that is until you see that this is meant for a 720p30 experience. The system memory and storage requirements too are certainly anything but modest. Even minimum specs suggest you need 16GB of system RAM and 150GB of HDD storage. Expectedly, the requirements only get more expensive from there.
In case you are wondering what you get for all these hefty requirements, Luminous Productions has also detailed some of the PC features that Forspoken brings to PCs.
Although the title is supported on Windows 10 November 2019 update or later, it looks like DirectStorage will only work on Windows 11. Previously Microsoft has stated that the newer OS features "additional optimizations in the IO stack" even though the technology should work on both Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Square Enix has also published a blog post today titled "Forspoken: Everything you need to know" which summarizes what you can expect from the upcoming game.