The Returnal system requirements don’t require a cutting edge gaming PC to meet, despite the PlayStation 5 origins of the roguelike game. However, budget builders may need to upgrade their graphics card to avoid undesirable levels of performance.
Developers Housemarque and Climax Studios set the minimum Returnal PC specs with quad core processors, 16GB of RAM, and either an Nvidia GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580. Sure, the latter GPUs aren’t the best graphics card options around, but if you’re rocking an older gaming laptop or a budget build, running the roguelike might be off the table.
These are the Returnal system requirements:
| Minimum (720p / Low / 60fps) |
Recommended (1080p / High / 60fps) |
|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5 6400 AMD Ryzen 5 1500X |
Intel Core i7 8700 AMD Ryzen 7 2700X |
| RAM | 16GB | 16GB |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 AMD Radeon RX 580 |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT |
| VRAM | 6GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 60GB | 60GB SSD |
As you’d expect, you’ll need an even beefier build to match Returnal recommended specs, specifically an Nvidia RTX 2070 Super, AMD RX 6700 XT, or something on par with 8GB VRAM or more.
Not even your ageing mechanical storage is safe, as the studio recommends ditching your hard drive. That doesn’t necessarily mean picking up the best SSD for gaming, but if your Steam Library still lives on a revolving disc, it might be time to invest.
| Epic (4K/ Epic / 60fps) |
Ray Tracing (Upscaled 4K / Epic/ 60fps) |
|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7 9700K AMD Ryzen 7 3700X |
Intel Core i9 11900K AMD Ryzen 9 5900X |
| RAM | 32GB | 32GB |
| GPU | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT |
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti AMD Radeon RX 69 XT |
| VRAM | 10GB | 12GB |
| Storage | 60GB SSD | 60GB SSD |
As is tradition now with PlayStation releases on PC, we also have separate 4K and ray tracing specs. They’re a signifcant step up in just about every way compared to the previous requirements, requiring double the amount of RAM and more powerful processors and GPUs.
Thankfully, you’ll be able to boost fps in Sony’s former PS5 exclusive. Both Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR will be supported, with Nvidia Image Scaling (NIS) also making an appearance for ageing GTX graphics cards.
Take the Returnal system requirements test over on PCGameBenchmark to answer the question… Can I run Returnal?
