Can your PC handle ‘Civilization VI’?

By Danny Cowan September 23, 2016

civilization vi system requirements revealed ahead of october launch civ6req — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Publisher 2K Games has announced the system requirements for its upcoming 4X strategy game Civilization VI, giving series fans a heads up on the hardware required to run the latest entry in Sid Meier’s long-running franchise.

Civilization VI demands little in the way of hardware horsepower compared with other upcoming PC games like Mafia III and Battlefield 1, but players will still need a decent CPU and video card in order to run the game at max settings.

Dating back to the 16-bit console era, the Civilization series has seen numerous improvements and expansions since its humble beginnings in the early 1990s. The most recent core franchise release arrived in 2010 with the launch of Civilization V, and fans have eagerly awaited a follow-up in the years since.

The development teams behind Civilization V‘s expansions return to head up the work on Civilization VI, which will introduce an array of new strategic options. As in previous games in the series, players guide the expansion and cultural growth of a tribe of people over the course of multiple historical periods. Civilization VI also includes the option of playing as real-world figures like Qin Shi Huang, Theodore Roosevelt, and Queen Victoria throughout several simulated scenarios.

Players can get Civilization VI up and running with as little as 4GB of RAM and a modest CPU, as the game requires just a 2.5-GHz Intel Core i3 or 2.6-GHz AMD Phenom II to function — fairly modest hardware. 2K Games also recommends a 1GB DirectX 11 video card such as AMD’s 5570 or Nvidia’s 450 in order to achieve playable framerates at low settings.

Civ pros who demand maximum performance will need 8GB of RAM and a slightly faster CPU, such as a fourth-generation 2.5-GHz Intel Core i5 or a 4-GHz AMD FX8350. Video card requirements double for recommended settings: 2K Games notes that increased graphical detail requires a 2GB DirectX 11 video card like AMD’s 7970 or Nvidia’s 770.

Civilization VI launches at retail and digitally via Steam on October 21.

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