Saints Row required specs demand a beefy gaming computer

The required specs for Saints Row have been revealed days before launch, and fans aren’t very excited about them.

While console players get the luxury of downloading a game and running it with no issues, PC players constantly have to fret over how a game performs on their particular system. In the case of the Saints Row reboot, developer Deep Silver Volition expects their fans to pack serious PC hardware heat. 

The required and recommended specs for the new Saints Row were revealed on August 18, just five days before the intended August 23 release date. The social media post outlined four different performance levels ranging from the absolute minimum playability to everything cranked at 4K resolution. The numbers are dramatic.

Deep Silver Volition recommends the following minimum specs for Saints Row 2022.

• Intel Core i3-3240/AMD Ryzen 3 1200
• 8 GB RAM
• Geforce GTX 970/AMD Radeon RX 480
• 50 GB storage

The notable part about these specs is that this is only enough to run the game at 30 frames per second. A 970 is still a passable card for many gamers, though the CPU requirements are fairly reasonable. Players will also need Windows 10, as a Mac version of the game has not been announced.

To run Saints Row consistently at 4K, players will need an absolute top-of-the-line gaming rig.

Why are the system requirements for Saints Row so high?

The system requirements for Saints Row are high, and there are two major reasons for it.

Saints Row’s graphics look pretty good, but it doesn’t blow other AAA titles out of the water. However, the game underwent a heavy visual overhaul relatively close to launch. The lighting in more recent trailers is completely different, even for the same scenes. That means less time to optimize, and less optimization means greater system and hardware requirements for players.

It’s easy to forget that Saints Row features a complex physics engine affecting players, NPCs, vehicles, weapons, and more. This puts a lot of strain on PCs, especially during the bombastic firefights the series is known for. The physics engine could also be part of why the game’s framerate appears to be capped at 60. It may be possible to raise it further, but even the highest recommended settings don’t show 144 FPS or higher for the new Saints Row game.

Deep Silver Volition could further tune the game after release, as a launch-ready season pass confirms additional development is in store. Still, Saints Row fans with weaker computers may have to miss out on the reboot.