The minimum requirements are as follows:
- OS: Windows 7 or higher 64bit
- Processor: Intel Core i3 2.00 GHz or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 6 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 450 or higher with 1GB Memory
- Storage: 4 GB available space
- DirectX: DX11
Here’s a simplified checklist version:
- Is my OS Windows 7 or higher and also 64bit?
- Do I have a dedicated graphics card?
NOTE If your machine has an integrated GPU, scroll down to “What if I have an Integrated GPU?” (If you’re not sure about your GPU, scroll to “How the heck do I know if my GPU can run Firewatch!”)
- Do I have at least 6GB of RAM?
If the answer to all three is “Yes,” you’ll have an enjoyable time playing Firewatch! If the answer to one or more is “No,” you may face some performance issues ranging from annoying to unplayable.
How do I find my system specs?
To view your system specs, you can open your Steam client, up top under Help, there is a handy “System Information” tool.
If you’re not playing on Steam, you can also can hit “Windows Key” +R and then type “dxdiag.” Then, select “Save All Information” and email us the generated DxDiag.txt.
What does minimum spec mean?
The configuration listed above is the lowest machine hardware and operating system specifications we feel will provide an acceptable customer experience. This is not the lowest possible configuration to get the game to boot, but anything lower than this we consider unsupported.
In real terms, we set this benchmark at stable 30FPS on Low graphics settings.
Firewatch can be configured to have even lower than Low settings (shadows can be turned off, detail distance can be dropped) but, in the same way that the resolution can be dropped to something like 600x800, we do not feel like the technical minimum we allow for Firewatch is an acceptable experience.
Really? I need 6GB of RAM / memory?
On a 64-bit OS with 4GB of memory you should be able to play the game most of the time but there are a few cases where you may outrun our streaming system and experience crashing, frame-rate hitches or stability issues. With 4GB of RAM you probably will not be able to play above Low graphics settings.
We know the game runs fine with ~5GB but listing that as a requirement felt strange since that’s an extremely unlikely config (one that we couldn’t even test on!).
What if I have a 32-bit operating system?
32 Bit OS’s are only able to utilize a maximum of ~3GB of system memory, and are unsupported at this time.
Okay, well then what is the recommended spec?
Due to the massive number of possible hardware configurations, differences between hardware manufacturers, and range of display resolutions we are not comfortable recommending a specific configuration, or setting a benchmark for what that spec would display (60FPS at 1080p? 60FPS at 1440p? 120FPS at 1080p? 144FPS at 2k?).
This is an estimate based on our testing, but on a GeForce 760 with 3rd Gen or newer Core i5 you should usually get 60FPS at 1080p with High settings.
How the heck do I know if my GPU can run Firewatch?
Nvidia and AMD GPUs use a different naming convention.
For Nvidia, the first (leftmost) number represents the generation of card. So the GeForce 6XX series are contemporaries. The next number represents type, going from 2 to 9. A GT 620 is a low-end card, a GTX 650 is a mid-range card, a GTX 690 is the top of the line (in 2012 at least). The rightmost number is an extension of the middle number – a GT 645 is between a 640 and a 650.
For AMD the convention is slightly different. RX represents market segment,R5 is entry level, R7 is the mid-market, R9 is enthusiast or high-end. The leftmost number represents generation, the middle number represents type, the rightmost number (and trailing letters) are modifications.
Nvidia and AMD switched naming conventions at different times, so the generations are not directly comparable.
This can be a bit complicated when comparing cards across different generations and manufacturers. The GeForce 450 is a mid-range card from 2010. It is (roughly!) comparable to the GeForce 740 or the Intel Iris 6200. The GeForce 450 is slightly more powerful than the Radeon R7 250, but is absolutely smoked by the R7 260.
What if I have an integrated GPU?
We are not officially supporting integrated GPUs (like the Intel HD series, or the Intel Iris series).
There is a large gap in performance between integrated and dedicated GPUs. The game as it exists may still work on some integrated GPUs however you may have bouts of hitching or sub-30FPS gameplay. We do not enforce (ie. the game will still boot without) a dedicated GPU, but we do recommend one for stable framerate.
If you are attempting to play Firewatch on an integrated GPU, try using Low graphics settings and a low resolution that maintains your display’s aspect ratio. You may also want to ensure you aren’t running off battery power, and have your integrated card’s power settings set to Maximum Performance.