With the release of the latest installment in the STALKER franchise, STALKER 2: Heat of Chornobyl, just around the corner, the question of “Will my system be able to run it?” surely pops up in a lot of heads. Spoiler Alert, you might need to upgrade if you are planning to play it on the highest settings.
After cancellations and delays, GSC Game World announced the release of STALKER 2 on November 20th, 2024. In this guide, we will be sharing everything you need to know about the specs you will need to run STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl smoothly.
Stalker 2 PC System Requirements
GSC Games World released the official system requirements needed to run the game smoothly in a Twitter Post (or X.com) with a caption:
“It’s the time for ultimate calibrations, stalkers!
Examine the final System Requirements carefully, and adjust your machinery for a trouble-free connection to the Noosphere 🔮”
There will be three presets you will be able to play STALKER 2 on with each one with target FPS and resolution:
- Low
- Medium
- High (Recommended)
- Epic
Needless to say, you will need a huge chunk of storage, 160GB, freed up in your SSD, if you are planning to play the game. This is 10GB more than the previously reported 150GB but I guess that’s the cost of having the ultimate post-apocalyptic experience with a map spanning over nearly 60 square km.
So without further ado, here are the system requirements needed to run the game.
Low
Target FPS: 30 FPS
Target Resolution: 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB / AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB / Intel Arc A750
- RAM: 16GB Dual Channel
- Storage: 160GB SSD
While the overall recommended requirements are quite high if you are planning to simply tick the game off the list without costing yourself an arm and a leg, you can play it on 1080p with a 7700k and GTX 1060. If you want a more immersive and smoother experience, we do recommend you spend a couple of extra bucks and get yourself upgraded to the recommended requirements.
Medium
Target FPS: 60 FPS
Target Resolution: 1080p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super / RTX 4060 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
- RAM: 16GB Dual Channel
- Storage: 160GB SSD
The specs that will run the game on Medium were previously speculated to be the recommended requirements. Looks a bit steep but the investment will be worth it.
High (Recommended)
Target FPS: 60 FPS
Target Resolution: 1440p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-11700 / AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti / RTX 4070 / AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- RAM: 32GB Dual Channel
- Storage: 160GB SSD
GSC games recommend these requirements if you are truly looking to get in The Zone (pun intended).
Epic
Target FPS: 60+ FPS
Target Resolution: 2160p
- CPU: Intel Core i7-13700KF / AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 / AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
- RAM: 32GB Dual Channel
- Storage: 160GB SSD
If you have the most baller setup with every top-shelf item then you are in for a treat because STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl will squeeze out every ounce of performance to give you the ultimate experience in the Dystopian wasteland of Chornobyl.
Will STALKER 2 Support Upscaling?
As confirmed by the devs themselves on the official Twitter STALKER 2, it will support upscaling technologies – DLSS and FSR.
This surely puts a bit of that lost smile back on people’s faces as now you will be able to upscale the game while pushing all those extra FPS. How well the game handles it, is a question for later but for now, let’s hope the game is as bug-free as possible.
STALKER 2 will be available on Xbox Game Pass from day 1 so better pre-install the and be ready to rumble as soon as the game rolls out.