It might be time to ditch your older GPUs as Alan Wake 2 becomes the latest game to be RTX-exclusive

Alan Wake 2's system requirements have been published, and the list has surprised gamers, as all the requirements list RTX 20 series and RX 6000 series or newer GPUs. The game features a crucial graphics technology, mesh shaders, available only in the latest graphics cards that support DirectX 12 Ultimate.

Only the latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD support the tech, thereby eliminating a large chunk of gamers from the latest horror thriller from Remedy.

The latest gaming consoles, including the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Series S, support mesh shading technologies. Hence, they won't have major problems playing the game. However, players with older GPUs can't simply play the title, let alone a low-framerate experience like some other demanding titles.

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Alan Wake 2 system requirements for optimal performance

Remedy Entertainment published a detailed list of system requirements a few days ago. The game requires an RTX 2060 or RX 6600 at the very minimum for 1080p 30 FPS. For 4K gaming, Remedy recommends some of the latest RTX 40 series graphics cards like the 4080 and 4090.

The detailed system requirements are as follows:

Minimum – Low graphics preset, 1080p/30FPS:

• GPU: GeForce RTX 2060/Radeon RX 6600
• VRAM: 6 GB
• DLSS/FSR2: Quality
• CPU: Intel i5-7600K or AMD equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10/11, 64-bit
• Storage: 90 GB SSD

Recommended – Medium graphics preset, 1440p/30FPS:

• GPU: GeForce RTX 3060/Radeon RX 6600 XT
• VRAM: 8 GB
• DLSS/FSR2: Balanced
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10/11, 64-bit
• Storage: 90 GB SSD

Recommended – Medium preset, 1080p/60FPS:

• GPU: GeForce RT 3070/Radeon RX 6700 XT
• VRAM: 8 GB
• DLSS/FSR2: Performance
• CPU: Rozen 7 3700X or Intel equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10/11, 64-bit
• Storage: 90 GB SSD

Ultra – High preset, 2160p/60FPS

• GPU: GeForce RTX 4070/Radeon RX 7800 XT
• VRAM: 12 GB
• DLSS/FSR2: Performance
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10/11, 64-bit
• Storage: 90 GB SSD

Turning on ray tracing will require significantly more graphics horsepower.

The following hardware is recommended by Remedy:

Ray-tracing Low – 1080p/30FPS:

• GPU: GeForce RTX 3070/Radeon RX 6800 XT
• VRAM: 8 GB
• DLSS/FSR2: Quality
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10/11, 64-bit
• Storage: 90 GB SSD

Ray-tracing Medium with Path Tracing on – 1080p/60FPS

• GPU: GeForce RTX 4070
• VRAM: 12 GB
• DLSS/FSR2: Quality
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10/11, 64-bit
• Storage: 90 GB SSD

Ray-tracing High with Path Tracing On – 2160p/60FPS

• GPU: GeForce RTX 4080
• VRAM: 16 GB
• DLSS/FSR2: Performance
• CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel equivalent
• RAM: 16 GB
• OS: Windows 10/11, 64-bit
• Storage: 90 GB SSD

Alan Wake 2 is also one of those few modern games that have gone SSD-only. Even the lowest settings require an SSD for optimal performance.

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Why Alan Wake 2's system requirements are out of place

The main problem with the fancy graphics rendering technology is that it locks out a huge library of video cards from playing Alan Wake 2. Only a handful of GPUs, including the RTX 20, 30, and 40 series options from Nvidia and the latest RX 6000 and 7000 series graphics cards from Team Red, are capable of remotely running the game at playable framerates.

Do note that Alan Wake 2 looks phenomenal with these new graphics technologies applied. The game might easily rank among the most visually pleasing titles of the year. However, according to calculations of X (formerly Twitter) user @PC_Focus_, only 7% of all PC gamers will be able to play it.

Therefore, now might be the best time to upgrade to one of the latest pixel pushers to play the horror title. Alan Wake 2 will be the first of many games that might lock out older GPUs from playing the latest titles.