Forspoken’s incredibly intensive system requirements for PC have come under fire from fans.
Earlier this week, Square Enix revealed the highly intensive system requirements for Forspoken. The lack of optimization for PC users has sparked a backlash among the community, with many turning the specifications of the PC version into a meme.
Unfortunately, Square Enix has a history of poor PC ports. Most notable is Nier: Automata, which took nearly four years of updates and a 2021 re-release before performing adequately on PC. Square’s 2018 port of Chrono Trigger was infamous for lifting the game’s UI right off the screen of an Android mobile device, and its Final Fantasy X-2 port was unplayable before a host of patches.
Now, Forspoken’s high PC system requirements have come under fire across social media, with some gamers complaining that developers are lazily porting console games over to PC, without optimizing them correctly. Forspoken isn’t the only game to have unusually high system requirements, as Sony’s upcoming port of Returnal requires 32GB of RAM on PC. Forspoken however requires the Nvidia RTX 3070 for just 1440p resolution at 30 FPS, and the $1,200 RTX 4080 for 4K, 60 FPS gameplay.
While Square Enix did just announce quality-of-life enhancements after the Forspoken demo received criticism, it has yet to address the fact that many gaming PC owners are scoffing at the idea of purchasing and playing the game. PC gamers question how the PlayStation 5, with only 16GB of memory can run the title with 4K, 60 FPS gameplay and a more powerful PC cannot.
The concern among gamers is that PC ports are an afterthought by companies like Square-Enix, who simply push software onto PC without taking the time to optimize gameplay for the platform. Being multi-functional, open-ended machines, PCs use different parameters to run video games, and perhaps developers aren’t utilizing the hardware advantages present on PC.
Forspoken is a new IP for Square Enix, and it lacks the fanbase established franchises such as Final Fantasy have gained. PC players often seek a balance between graphical prowess and performance, and without properly optimized software for the platform, they’re likely to lose interest, especially in a new title without a solid following.