System Requirements

Overview

Kingmakers is a technically demanding game that renders thousands of medieval soldiers, destructible buildings, vehicles, and large-scale battlefields simultaneously. Despite this, the development team at Redemption Road Games has optimized the game to target 60 frames per second on mid-range PC hardware. In their own words, the studio set out to push the Unreal Engine 4 codebase to its absolute limits while still providing true 60fps to midrange PCs, without the need for fake frames. The game supports NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), which uses AI-based upscaling to improve performance without a significant reduction in visual quality.

The 60fps target is not just a marketing bullet point. The team has been explicit that they mean real rendered frames, not interpolated or generated frames that some modern upscaling technologies produce. This distinction matters for gameplay feel, especially in a game where the player switches between precise third-person shooting and broad strategy-mode camera sweeps over thousands of soldiers. Input responsiveness at 60fps with real frames is noticeably better than the same frame rate achieved through frame generation techniques.

PC Requirements

The minimum specifications target playable performance at lower settings, while the recommended specifications should deliver the game's target of 60fps at higher graphical fidelity. DLSS is available on all supported NVIDIA RTX cards and is recommended for players who want to push visual quality beyond what their native resolution performance would normally allow.

The 80 GB storage requirement is notable and reflects the game's large-scale environments, detailed textures, and the volume of assets needed to render both medieval and modern military elements. An SSD is not listed as a requirement but will significantly improve load times, especially when streaming in new areas of the map during battles.

One detail that stands out in the requirements is the absence of AMD GPU options anywhere in the listed specifications. Both the minimum and recommended tiers list NVIDIA cards exclusively. This does not mean the game will not run on AMD hardware, but it does indicate that the development team has focused their optimization and testing primarily on NVIDIA's architecture, which aligns with the DLSS integration.

Upscaling Technology

DLSS has already been implemented in the game's current builds. For players with NVIDIA RTX GPUs, this provides a meaningful performance boost, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU would otherwise struggle to maintain 60fps with thousands of on-screen soldiers and destruction effects.

AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) 2 is a possibility the team has explored. FSR 2 operates as an AMD plugin, and the developers have looked into its compatibility with their engine setup. No official confirmation of FSR support has been made as of the most recent updates, but the team has not ruled it out either. For AMD GPU users, FSR 2 support would be particularly welcome since DLSS is limited to NVIDIA's RTX lineup.

The studio's emphasis on true 60fps without fake frames means they are focused on delivering real rendered frames rather than relying heavily on frame generation. While DLSS and potentially FSR provide spatial upscaling (rendering at a lower resolution and intelligently upscaling), frame generation (which inserts AI-generated intermediate frames) is a different technology that the developers appear to have intentionally avoided as a primary performance solution.

Console Performance

Kingmakers is confirmed for Xbox Series X|S, and the developers have stated that the Xbox Series S can run the game at 60fps. Given that the Series S has comparable GPU power to a mid-range laptop GPU, this is a useful reference point for expected performance across different hardware tiers. If the Series S can hit 60fps, most desktop PCs meeting the minimum requirements should be able to do the same or better.

The console versions benefit from the same optimization work that targets the PC version. The custom GPU shader-based animation system, which offloads soldier animations to the GPU, is especially important on consoles where CPU budgets are more tightly constrained. PlayStation 5 support has also been discussed by the developers, though the focus during Early Access will be on the PC version.

Steam Deck Compatibility

Kingmakers has shown promising performance on the Steam Deck. The developers have confirmed that one of their playtesters was running the game well on the original Steam Deck hardware, and the team stated that they would be acquiring a Steam Deck OLED for further testing and optimization. The expectation is that once additional optimizations are in place, the game should perform well on Valve's handheld.

Players should expect reduced graphical settings and potentially lower frame rates compared to a mid-range desktop PC. The Steam Deck's APU (which combines CPU and GPU on a single chip) handles the game's demands adequately for the core gameplay experience, though the largest battles with thousands of soldiers on screen simultaneously may push the hardware. The OLED model's improved thermal design and slightly higher power budget should provide a small but meaningful improvement over the LCD model.

Controller support is planned for the game. A designer on the Kingmakers team has confirmed that controller input will be supported, which is important for Steam Deck users who rely on the built-in controls. The game's dual-mode design (third-person shooter mode and top-down strategy mode) will need to accommodate both input methods, with the strategy mode in particular requiring careful UI adaptation for controller-based cursor movement.

Connectivity and Play Modes

Kingmakers supports solo offline play for the entire campaign. Players do not need an internet connection to play the single-player content. The co-op multiplayer mode, which supports up to four players, requires an online connection. There is no split-screen or local co-op option.

The solo offline capability is significant for Steam Deck users who may be playing in environments without reliable internet access. The full campaign, including kingdom building, combat, and the complete story progression, is available in offline mode. Only the co-op features require connectivity.

Supported Languages

Kingmakers supports 10 languages at launch:

The initial language set covers the major gaming markets. Additional language support may be added during the Early Access period based on community demand and the studio's capacity. The localization covers interface text and subtitles; voice acting, where present, is in English.

Technical Architecture

For players interested in the technical details, Kingmakers is built entirely in C++ and HLSL (High Level Shading Language). There is no Blueprint visual scripting anywhere in the project. The game uses a custom animation system that offloads NPC animation work from the CPU to the GPU. From the CPU's perspective, every soldier on the battlefield is in a static T-pose. The GPU handles all the actual animation using shader-based vertex manipulation.

When soldiers are far from the camera, they use simpler vertex animations with 8-way walk blends and 4-way run animations. When the camera gets close, the system transitions seamlessly to full skeletal animation for visual fidelity. This Level of Detail (LOD) system is what allows the game to field up to 4,000 soldiers (and potentially 8,000) without destroying frame rates. The transition between vertex and skeletal animation is smooth enough that players do not notice the switch happening during normal gameplay.

The all-code approach gives the team maximum control over performance optimization and allows them to implement custom systems that would be difficult to achieve through higher-level tools. For a team of approximately 20 developers, this level of technical ambition is unusual, and it explains both the game's impressive technical capabilities and the extended development timeline needed to achieve them.