Resident Evil Requiem PC Requirements: Modest Hardware, Windows 11 Only

Capcom’s Steam page quietly confirmed what many suspected: Resident Evil Requiem’s PC requirements are surprisingly modest for a modern AAA title, but there’s an uncompromising caveat — Windows 11 (64-bit) is mandatory. The store listing publishes a practical minimum and recommended hardware envelope that will let a broad swath of current gaming PCs run the game, while the OS gate effectively excludes unsupported Windows 10 machines unless owners upgrade or enroll in short-term extended support programs.

Background / Overview​

Resident Evil Requiem is Capcom’s next mainline survival-horror entry, positioned as a fresh narrative and mechanical direction for the series. The game puts players in the role of Grace Ashcroft, an FBI intelligence analyst, and takes place in a rebooted Raccoon City scenario. The title is scheduled to arrive on PC and consoles around late February 2026, with storefront listings showing a late-February unlock window (Steam lists 26 February 2026 while other outlets report 27 February 2026). That minor calendar discrepancy is consistent with region/unlock-hour differences seen on international releases. Capcom’s Steam entry also reveals a few other metadata points players care about: the PC release is DRM-protected with Denuvo anti-tamper active on launch builds, the game supports HDR and multiple language tracks, and pre-order bundles (including Deluxe editions) are already available. The store page is the canonical source for the technical sheet and remains the most authoritative place to verify final launch numbers.

---

What Capcom Published: Minimum and Recommended PC Specs​

Capcom’s Steam listing gives a clean, conservative spec table. These are the figures as displayed on Steam at the time of reporting.
Minimum (playable, 1080p / lower settings)

• OS: Windows 11 (64-bit required)
• CPU: Intel Core i5-8500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8 GB
• DirectX: Version 12.

Recommended (comfortable 1080p / 60 FPS)

• OS: Windows 11 (64-bit required)
• CPU: Intel Core i7-8700 or AMD Ryzen 5 5500
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super 8 GB or AMD Radeon RX 6600 8 GB
• DirectX: Version 12.

Two practical notes about that table: Steam’s requirements do not list an install size, and the OS entry is explicit — Windows 11 is required. Multiple outlets reprinting the Steam sheet confirm those items, so the numbers are effectively the developer’s published baseline for PC compatibility.

---

Why the Specs Are “Manageable” — and Why That Matters​

On paper, the CPU and GPU targets place Resident Evil Requiem in the mid-range-friendly bracket rather than demanding the latest flagship silicon. A GTX 1660 / RX 5500 XT minimum and an RTX 2060 Super / RX 6600 recommended mean a large portion of rigs sold in the last 3–5 years will meet the baseline or be close to it.
That’s important for PC gamers who have delayed GPU upgrades in a market where high-end cards have been expensive and scarce at times. For many users:

• 16 GB of system RAM has become the de facto baseline for modern AAA games, and Requiem follows that pattern.
• The CPU choices skew toward common six-core and six‑to‑eight-thread parts; single-thread performance still matters, but Requiem’s targets don’t demand bleeding-edge multi-core desktop CPUs.
• Recommended GPU class (RTX 2060 Super / RX 6600) will hit smooth 1080p experiences on medium/high presets for most players.

In short: the game will be broadly accessible to mid-range hardware owners without forcing a generational GPU or CPU upgrade for players who target 1080p/60. This accessibility approach appears intentional and reflects a broader industry trend of optimizing for the largest player base while offering visual headroom for higher-end machines.

---

The Big Red Flag: Windows 11 Is Non‑Negotiable​

The Steam requirements are blunt: Windows 11 (64-bit) is required for both minimum and recommended tiers. That single line changes the story from “accessible” to “accessible if you’re on Microsoft’s modern OS baseline.” Several technical and policy reasons commonly underlie a Windows 11-only decision:

• Windows 11 exposes a more stable, testable platform for modern APIs and storage technologies such as DirectStorage (and a modern OS storage stack), reducing platform fragmentation for developers. Many studios favor a single modern baseline to simplify QA and performance tuning.
• Windows 11’s enforced platform features (TPM 2.0 expectations, Secure Boot ubiquity) give publishers a predictable root-of-trust and can simplify anti-cheat and low-level driver behavior testing. That can be attractive for live-service or anti-cheat-dependent titles.
• Requiring Windows 11 lets studios optimize for the latest runtime and graphics stack, and reduces the matrix of OS-and-driver combinations they must certify.

Capcom’s storefront choice mirrors decisions from other large publishers in 2024–2025 who also began gating titles on Windows 11 to stabilize development targets and rely on modern OS features. Multiple independent prelaunch listings and press pieces have noted this growing pattern.

---

The Windows 10 Fallout: What End of Support Actually Means​

Microsoft’s formal lifecycle policy makes this situation meaningful in practical terms: Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. After that date Microsoft no longer supplies regular security updates, feature updates, or technical support for consumer Windows 10 editions. Microsoft explicitly recommends upgrading to Windows 11 or enrolling in its consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) program for short-term protection. This is a hard milestone because many software makers correlate their own platform support decisions with Microsoft’s support timeline. What this actually means for a Windows 10 player:

• Your machine may still run current games and apps, but vendors are increasingly likely to decline to support or investigate issues that only reproduce on Windows 10 after Microsoft’s cutoff. That can leave Windows 10 users on their own if a future game update relies on Windows 11 behaviour.
• Microsoft offers a consumer ESU for one year beyond EOL and some enterprise paths for longer protection, but ESU is a temporary stopgap and often has management or account implications (e.g., Microsoft has tightened requirements for ESU enrollment).

Capcom has already signaled that same posture for at least some of its live-service titles: the company warned that future compatibility for Monster Hunter Wilds (and certain previous Monster Hunter releases) on Windows 10 would not be guaranteed after mid-October, a message that dovetails with Microsoft’s EOL timeline. In practice that means Capcom may not patch or fix Windows-10-specific regressions arising after the Microsoft cutoff.

---

Practical Impact — Who Can Play and Who Can’t​

Short answer: If your PC matches Requiem’s CPU/GPU/RAM targets but still runs Windows 10, you will likely be blocked from launching the game unless you upgrade to Windows 11 or use a machine that meets the OS requirement.
Longer answer — scenarios and repercussions:

• Many recent gaming laptops and desktops purchased in the last few years are Windows 11-capable via free in-place upgrade; those owners will mostly be unaffected.
• Older machines that lack TPM 2.0 or UEFI Secure Boot support may be unable to upgrade to Windows 11 without workarounds and therefore will not meet Requiem’s stated OS requirement. Those users must choose between hardware replacement, unsupported OS workarounds, or letting go of the title.
• Users who were relying on Microsoft’s ESU may still have a temporary lifeline for security updates, but ESU does not alter a publisher’s product requirement if that publisher has chosen to require Windows 11 explicitly. In other words, ESU helps security posture but not necessarily compatibility with new games.

---

Verification: Cross‑Checking the Claims​

• The Steam product page lists the exact minimum and recommended hardware (Windows 11 requirement, CPU/GPU/RAM details). That store page is the authoritative developer-stated spec sheet.
• Independent gaming press outlets covering the announcement and the pre-order listing reproduce the same numbers and OS requirement, confirming that Steam’s table is not a one-off error. TechRadar’s coverage, along with other reporting from launch events and trade shows, matches the Steam listing’s OS gate and release window.
• Microsoft’s lifecycle documentation confirms Windows 10 end of support on October 14, 2025, which contextualizes why publishers are tightening OS baselines now.
• Capcom’s messaging about Windows 10 compatibility for previously released live titles reinforces an operational posture shift at the publisher level: Capcom warned players it could no longer guarantee compatibility for certain Monster Hunter titles on Windows 10 after Microsoft’s cutoff. That public advisory was covered by mainstream outlets.

Where a single authoritative source is absent or ambiguous (for example, a final install size), the correct posture is caution: plan for a launch-day install potentially significantly larger than other midrange titles, and expect day‑one patches. Steam’s omission of install size is notable and should encourage players to reserve extra free space.

---

Practical Preparation: Upgrade Guidance and Checklists​

If you plan to play Resident Evil Requiem on PC, use this checklist to avoid launch-day surprises.

• Confirm Windows 11 eligibility
• Run Microsoft’s PC Health Check or check Settings > Windows Update. If your device meets the hardware baseline, Windows Update will offer the free in-place upgrade.
• Update drivers and firmware
• Ensure the latest GPU drivers (NVIDIA/AMD) and motherboard firmware/UEFI are installed before upgrading OS or installing the game. Many launch-day issues trace to outdated drivers interacting poorly with new game builds.
• Reserve disk space
• Steam does not list an install size for Requiem; set aside at least 60–100 GB temporarily until Capcom confirms an explicit number. Some modern AAA builds and day‑one patches can easily push beyond 50 GB. An NVMe SSD is strongly recommended for best streaming and load performance.
• Consider a clean OS image if upgrading
• If you upgrade to Windows 11, perform a clean install or ensure a full system backup exists. Major OS upgrades and driver transitions can introduce stability quirks that are best addressed on a fresh image if problems arise.
• Test before committing (where possible)
• If you have a spare drive or partition, test an in-place upgrade and game launch there before applying changes to a production machine used for work or content creation.
• Evaluate anti‑tamper implications
• Steam’s listing notes third-party DRM (Denuvo) and machine-activation limits. Be prepared for potential early-day DRM issues and check Capcom’s support channels for troubleshooting steps if activation or verification fails.

---

For Enthusiasts and Upgradeers: Where to Spend Money First​

If your system is short of the recommended envelope, these upgrades deliver the largest practical gains in descending order:

• GPU — biggest yield for visual fidelity and framerate. Target a modern 8 GB+ GPU (for 1080p/High) or 10–12+ GB card for 1440p/high texture pools. The recommended RTX 2060 Super / RX 6600 class is a practical 1080p target.
• NVMe SSD — improves load times and eliminates streaming stutter. Many modern engines expect fast storage I/O for texture streaming.
• RAM — 16 GB is the baseline; if you multitask heavily (streaming, capture, many browser tabs), 32 GB reduces the risk of paging and performance hits.
• CPU — move to a modern multi-core with strong single-thread performance if your CPU is a clear bottleneck; for 1080p gaming the GPU is usually more consequential, but CPU headroom helps with physics, AI and background tasks.

---

Risks, Edge Cases and Publisher Policy Concerns​

• OS Lockouts and Consumer Friction: Mandating Windows 11 can be experienced as a forced migration for users who prefer Windows 10 or whose hardware cannot meet Windows 11’s baseline. That friction will be especially visible for users who own capable hardware but lack TPM/UEFI features required by Microsoft’s supported upgrade path.
• Short-Term ESU Won’t Always Help: Enrolling in Microsoft’s consumer ESU program preserves security patches for a limited window but does not change a publisher’s Windows 11 requirement; many studios will still refuse to support Windows‑10-only bug reports after EOL.
• DRM and Activation Concerns: The Steam listing explicitly references Denuvo and machine-activation limits. DRM layers can cause authentication or anti-tamper failures on some systems; early adopters should be prepared to follow Capcom’s support guidance if activation fails.
• Driver and Anti‑Cheat Fragility: Recent launches show that new OS interactions, anti‑cheat drivers, and heavy DRM stacks can create regressions that uniquely affect some system configurations. Keeping firmware and drivers current reduces risk, but publishers sometimes decline to remediate Windows-10-only regressions after vendor lifecycles end.
• Unverified or Changing Numbers: Steam omitted install size and other runtime caveats. Until Capcom publishes an explicit install-size number or day-one patch notes, any storage figure is an estimate. Treat unlisted metadata as tentative and plan extra headroom.

---

Final Assessment​

Resident Evil Requiem’s hardware requirements read as developer-friendly for mid-range rigs: 16 GB RAM plus GTX 1660 / RX 5500 XT at minimum and RTX 2060 Super / RX 6600 at recommended make the technical barrier to entry relatively low compared with many 2025–2026 AAA titles. That’s good news for the majority of PC gamers who game at 1080p.
The decisive and consequential trade-off is the Windows 11-only requirement. The OS gate is a practical enforcement of the modern platform baseline and is consistent with Microsoft’s own timeline — Windows 10’s support formally ended on October 14, 2025 — but it has real-world consequences for users who cannot or do not want to migrate to Windows 11. Capcom’s prior advisories regarding Monster Hunter titles and Windows 10 compatibility demonstrate the publisher is operationally aligning support policies with Microsoft’s lifecycle. For players: if your rig meets the CPU/GPU/RAM figures and you’re on or can upgrade to Windows 11, expect a broadly smooth experience at 1080p without needing top-shelf hardware. If you’re on Windows 10 with older platform hardware, the decision whether to upgrade Windows or hardware depends on how important day‑one and future Capcom releases are to you.
Capcom’s Steam listing is definitive for now; monitor official support channels and the storefront for any day‑one changes to install size, patches, or last-minute requirement revisions.

---

Resident Evil Requiem’s PC profile is a study in contrasts: developer restraint on GPU/CPU demands but an uncompromising platform policy. That combination makes the title accessible from a hardware standpoint while accelerating the push for Windows 11 as the normalized standard for modern AAA PC releases. The trade-offs are clear — modest hardware needs, with a modern OS price of admission.

---

Source: GamingBolt Resident Evil Requiem’s PC Requirements Are Surprisingly Manageable, But Windows 11 is Mandatory