The trailer for Phantom Liberty is now out, and CD Project has notably changed the system requirements for the game, which appears to be a drastic shift from the older requirements. The new requirement charts now give details about the frame rate targets, resolution, and the required parts, which is a significant difference from the old requirement which didn’t give such specifics. The new requirements seem to demand more up-to-date CPUs, like the Intel 12 700 or a ryzen 7 7 800x for 1080p 60fps, and a 12 900 or a 7900x for 4K resolution at ultra settings at 60fps, quite a leap from the original i7 4790 or i7 6700.
The proposed changes are expected to take effect after the Phantom Liberty update. This gives rise to speculation about the possibility of a massive graphics overhaul for the game that corresponds with the update, justifying the recommended high-quality CPUs. Additionally, they are planning to no longer support hard disk drives- though they mention that the game will still function on systems with a hard drive, they will no longer be testing it on these systems. The reasoning behind this seems to be the falling prices and increasing accessibility of SSDs, which deliver a far superior gameplay experience on modern PC games.
Comparing the game’s current performance with the GPU and CPU requirements raises some confusion. For example, a GTX 1060 running on low settings at 1080p is said to perform at 30fps, yet the game performs at a higher frame rate. Yet, a 30 80 12 gigabyte card running at 4K ultra settings at 60fps currently also performs in the mid-40s, which questions the consistency of the frame rate definitions in the system requirements.
Equally confusing is the inconsistency regarding vRAM needs for different settings- they list a minimum requirement of 6gb at 1080p low settings, 12gb for 4K and up to 16gb for RT overdrive at 4K. Regarding the system RAM, the minimum has been raised from 8gb to 12gb. Testing of the game suggests that the current state of the game performs above average on some cards versus what is stated in the system requirements. This raises the question of whether these increased requirements will translate into a substantial difference in game performance after the update.
Finally, the apparent leap in CPU requirements from an i7 4790 or i7 6700 to an Intel 12 700 or Ryzen 7 7 800x for 1080p 60fps and a 12 900 or 7900x for 4K resolution at ultra settings at 60fps is quite notable. It suggests either a substantial graphics overhaul or possibly a less meticulous approach in stating support for less powerful CPUs. Overarchingly, the stated system requirements for Phantom Liberty suggests it will require testing upon release to clarify the potent discrepancies in the stated and actual game performance.