Developer id Software has reportedly released the PC system requirements for its upcoming highly anticipated game DOOM Eternal, and the hardware needed to run the game on recommended settings may cost more than a pretty penny. id Software has long been a leader in the world of PC gaming and engine optimization, evident by the company's pioneering of the first-person shooter with games like Wolfenstein, Quake and DOOM.
Now it seems like id Software is continuing to push the envelope of game performance with DOOM Eternal. Just last week id Software announced that DOOM Eternal is capable of running at 1000 frames per second, although Lead Program Engineer Billy Khan did admit that the company's highest performance test kits were only pushing the game into the 400's. One reason why so many PC enthusiasts may be excited about the potential performance capability of DOOM Eternal is because the game is running on id Software's brand new game engine id Tech 7. This is significant because there aren't many studios that use proprietary game engines, but id Software has always been a technical innovator. The developer's 2016 DOOM reboot received rave reviews from critics for its gameplay and technical performance, although it didn't have an in-game benchmark tool to test advanced PC settings.
The full rundown of the PC system requirements and recommended specs for DOOM Eternal was reported by GameSpot. According to the report, the absolute minimum requirements for running DOOM Eternal at 60 frames per second at 1080p resolution on low settings are: 64 bit Windows 7 or 10 OS, Intel Core i5 @ 3.3 GHz or better, or AMD Ryzen 3 @ 3.1 GHz or better, 8 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 (4GB), or AMD Radeon R9 290 (4GB)/RX 470 (4GB) and 50 GB of available space. The recommended technical specs have the same OS and storage requirements, but additionally need: Intel Core i7-6700K or better, or AMD Ryzen 7 1800X or better, 16 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8GB), RTX 2060 (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX Vega56 (8GB).
Shortly after GameSpot reported these specifications and requirements for DOOM Eternal, they were removed from Steam. At the time this article is being written, the minimum and recommended specs tab on the DOOM Eternal Steam page are blank, besides saying that the game requires "a 64-bit processor and operating system." It currently remains unknown whether or not the specs that were originally reported were posted in error.
The reported minimum specs for running DOOM Eternal did seem a bit imposing. Although PC gamers who regularly update their rig with quality graphics cards may scoff at the notion of a GTX 970 being anything close to "state of the art," it's important to remember that DOOM Eternal is launching on the base model PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well, which are two pieces of hardware that do not match the minimum spec requirements for the game. If id Software did take down the requirements to put some last minute polish on the game's performance capabilities, time is quickly running out as DOOM Eternal is set to launch soon, on March 20, 2020.