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PC System Requirements - Version 16 vs Version 17
Sep 23, 2026, 09:15 AM
Corrected the official spec tiers (Enthusiast naming, CPU, RAM, OS and storage), added the path tracing hardware tiers and FSR 4.1 support, and fixed the Photo Mode and cross-progression lines
Sep 23, 2026, 09:16 AM
Added the official PC specifications sheet covering the standard and path tracing tiers
11007 First Light's PC release lists four official spec tiers: Minimum (1080p at 30 FPS, Low preset), Recommended (1080p at 60 FPS, Medium), Enthusiast (1440p or 4K at 60 FPS, High), and Ultra (4K at 200+ FPS with DLSS 4.5, Ultra preset). DLSS is not enabled for the Minimum, Recommended, and Enthusiast targets. Path tracing and DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction were held back from launch and went live on September 15, 2026, with three path tracing tiers of their own. The GeForce Game Ready driver that optimises for the addition went out ahead of it, on September 9, 2026.22Official Tier-by-Tier Requirements44ComponentMinimumRecommendedEnthusiast (1440p)Enthusiast (4K)UltraPerformance target1080p at 30 FPS1080p at 60 FPS1440p at 60 FPS4K at 60 FPS4K at 200+ FPS (DLSS 4.5)Settings presetLowMediumHighHighUltraOSWindows 10/11 64-bitWindows 10/11 64-bitWindows 10/11 64-bitWindows 10/11 64-bitWindows 10/11 64-bitCPUIntel Core i5-9500 / AMD Ryzen 5 3500Intel Core i5-13500 / AMD Ryzen 5 7600Intel Core i5-13500 / AMD Ryzen 5 7600Intel Core i5-13500 / AMD Ryzen 5 7600Intel Core i5-13600K / AMD Ryzen 7 7700XRAM16 GB16 GB16 GB16 GB32 GBGPUNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 / AMD Radeon RX 5700 / Intel discrete equivalentNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT / Intel discrete equivalentNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 / AMD Radeon RX 7800 XTNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 / AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTXNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080VRAM (minimum)6 GB8 GB12 GB16 GB16 GBStorage80 GB, SSD required80 GB, SSD required80 GB, SSD required80 GB, SSD required80 GB, SSD required66Every tier requires an SSD, and both the storefront listing and the official spec sheet give 80 GB as the minimum storage. The official launch-day install size on PC, with the day-one patch included, was 53.2 GB.77Path Tracing Requirements99The path tracing update added three hardware tiers of its own to the official spec sheet. DLSS Ray Reconstruction is enabled automatically in these modes. All three list NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series cards; the official sheet names no AMD or Intel card for path tracing.1111ComponentPath Tracing MinimumPath Tracing RecommendedPath Tracing UltraPerformance target1080p at 60 FPS1440p at 60 FPS4K at 200+ FPS (DLSS 4.5)Path tracing settingMediumMediumHighCPUIntel Core i5-13500 / AMD Ryzen 5 7600Intel Core i5-13500 / AMD Ryzen 5 7600Intel Core i5-13600K / AMD Ryzen 7 7700XRAM16 GB16 GB32 GBGPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090VRAM (minimum)12 GB16 GB32 GBStorage80 GB, SSD required80 GB, SSD required80 GB, SSD requiredOSWindows 10/11 64-bitWindows 10/11 64-bitWindows 10/11 64-bit1314DLSS, Frame Generation, and Path Tracing1415FeatureAt LaunchSeptember 15, 2026 UpdateDLSS 4.5 Super ResolutionYesYesDLSS Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation (up to 5 generated frames)Yes (RTX 50 Series)YesDLSS Ray ReconstructionNoYesPath tracingNoYesUncapped framerateYesYesUltrawide and super-ultrawideYesYes1617NVIDIA's RTX 50 Series bundle ran from May 14 through June 10, 2026 and included a free copy of the game with eligible GPU purchases. The path tracing addition is a free update for all PC owners. IO Interactive dated it to September 15, 2026 on August 25, 2026 and shipped it on that date, pairing it with a performance claim of up to 280 frames per second on GeForce RTX hardware and pointing players without a capable RTX system toward cloud streaming.1718The first hotfix for the mode, Game Update 1.2.1 on September 17, 2026, fixed a set of path tracing crashes and rendering faults, and IO Interactive said it was working with NVIDIA on further performance improvements and on clarifying settings and hardware requirements. The Day One Patch page carries the full notes.1920AMD and Intel GPU Support2122AMD FSR upscaling is supported as an alternative to DLSS. Since the path tracing update, the game automatically uses FSR Upscaling 4.1 on AMD Radeon RX 7000 and 9000 series cards (RDNA 3 and RDNA 4) when FSR is selected, and falls back to FSR 3.1 on other cards. Intel XeSS is supported for Intel Arc GPUs. Both alternatives target similar quality settings to DLSS at the same render resolutions, with hardware-specific deltas on performance.2324Denuvo and Online Validation2526PC builds shipped with Denuvo DRM, added to the Steam page on May 21, 2026 and removed on July 24, 2026 alongside Game Update 1.1.0. While the DRM was active it performed periodic online validation checks, with offline play supported between checks. Current builds no longer include Denuvo. Refund requests filed before May 27 launch were honored by Steam per its standard refund policy.2728Steam Deck2930007 First Light is Steam Deck Verified. IO Interactive announced the verification on July 27, 2026, three days after Denuvo Anti-Tamper was removed from the PC build with Game Update 1.1.0 (see Denuvo DRM).3132Display Options3334Resolution: native up to 4K plus DLSS / FSR / XeSS upscaling targetsAspect ratios: 16:9 standard, 21:9 ultrawide, 32:9 super-ultrawideHDR: supported on HDR10 displaysVRR / G-Sync / FreeSync: supportedFrame pacing: tuned for uncapped framerate with variable refreshFOV slider: Yes (third-person camera tweaks)3536Input3738Keyboard and mouse: full rebindingDualSense (PS5): native haptics and adaptive trigger supportXbox controller: full supportHybrid controller switching: dynamic prompts adjust to current input device3940Other PC-Side Features4142Steam Cloud: yesSteam Achievements: yes (37 achievements, the PlayStation trophy roster minus the Platinum)Steam Workshop: not supported at launchSteam Remote Play Together: not applicable (single-player only)Photo Mode: not at launch; it is listed on the Year One content roadmapPerformance overlay: built-in FPS and frame-time graph (PC only)4344Accessibility (PC Build)4546007 First Light ships with a broad accessibility roster at launch:4748Subtitles. Full size, color, background opacity, and speaker-name customization.Menu narration. Full menu text-to-speech.Controller and keyboard remapping. Every action is rebindable, including chord and toggle bindings.Audio profiles. Multiple preset audio profiles plus per-channel mixer (dialogue, score, SFX, ambient).Motion sickness reductions. Reduced camera shake, reduced motion blur, optional first-person speed limiter (third-person default).Colorblind filters. Deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia presets.Quick-time event auto-complete. Optional toggle that resolves QTE prompts without input.Difficulty floor. Recruit difficulty supports a forgiving stealth and combat experience for accessibility-first runs.Hold-to-toggle conversion. Any hold-to-action button can be converted to a single-press toggle.4950Save Storage5152Approximate save file size is small (under 50 MB). Steam Cloud sync is on by default. Campaign saves do not transfer between PC and consoles; cross-progression through an IOI Account carries Tactical Simulation and challenge progress only.5354Related Articles5556Glacier EngineDenuvo DRMDay One PatchLaunch and Preload ScheduleAccessibility Features
