The minimum PC system requirements for Crimson Desert are a Ryzen 5 2600X or Core i5-8500, 16 GB of RAM and a GTX 1060 or RX 5500 XT graphics card, and a 150 GB SSD is required at every tier. Pearl Abyss laid out five tiers — from upscaled 1080p at 30 FPS to 4K at 60 FPS — plus separate Mac requirements. Data verified on October 21, 2026 against the game’s Steam page and Pearl Abyss announcements.
- Minimum: Ryzen 5 2600X / Core i5-8500, 16 GB RAM, RX 5500 XT / GTX 1060, 150 GB SSD, Windows 10 64-bit, DirectX 12.
- Recommended: Ryzen 5 5600 / Core i5-11600K, 16 GB RAM, RX 6700 XT / RTX 2080, 150 GB SSD.
Crimson Desert system requirements in a table
The table mirrors the game’s Steam page. Since update 2.00.00 on August 25, 2026, the game has been called Crimson Desert Enhanced: it’s a free update to the base version, and the requirements on Steam match the ones Pearl Abyss published before the March launch.
| Parameter | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10, 64-bit | Windows 10, 64-bit |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i5-8500 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or Intel Core i5-11600K |
| RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB |
| Graphics card | AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 |
| DirectX | 12 | 12 |
| Storage | SSD required, 150 GB | SSD required, 150 GB |
Pearl Abyss’s table specifies the OS version: Windows 10 64-bit 22H2 or later. The developers also say an up-to-date DirectX 12 is required. Some articles still cite early figures with a smaller disk size — go by 150 GB. The Charting the Unknown expansion comes out on October 29, 2026; its announcements don’t list separate system requirements, so leave some extra space.
Pearl Abyss’s five performance tiers
On March 10, 2026, Pearl Abyss published resolution and frame rate targets for each graphics preset. Every tier lists 16 GB of RAM, Windows 10 64-bit 22H2 or later and 150 GB on an SSD.
| Tier | Minimum | Low | Recommended | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preset | Minimum | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
| Target | 1080p upscaled from 900p, 30 FPS | 1080p, 30 FPS | 1080p, 60 FPS or 4K, 30 FPS | 1440p, 60 FPS | 4K, 60 FPS |
| AMD graphics card | RX 5500 XT | RX 6500 XT | RX 6700 XT | RX 7700 XT | RX 9070 XT |
| NVIDIA graphics card | GTX 1060 | GTX 1660 | RTX 2080 | RTX 4070 | RTX 5070 Ti |
| AMD processor | Ryzen 5 2600X | Ryzen 5 2600X | Ryzen 5 5600 | Ryzen 5 7600X | Ryzen 7 7700X |
| Intel processor | Core i5-8500 | Core i5-8500 | Core i5-11600K | Core i5-12600K | Core i5-13600K |
Pearl Abyss notes that the figures come from internal testing and depend on the PC configuration, software and manual changes to graphics settings. They’re a guideline, not a frame rate promise for any specific computer.
Upscalers, drivers and internet
- Upscalers. On PC, the game supports AMD FSR 3 and 4, NVIDIA DLSS 4 and 4.5, Intel XeSS 3, plus frame generation and AMD FSR Ray Regeneration and NVIDIA DLSS Ray Reconstruction.
- Drivers. Pearl Abyss recommends AMD driver version 25.9.2 or later and NVIDIA driver version 581.29 or later.
- Intel Arc. Support for Intel Arc graphics cards arrived in update 1.03.00 on April 11, 2026, along with XeSS 3.0 and XeSS frame generation. An image bug with these features on A-series Arc cards was fixed in update 1.08.00.
- Internet. A connection is required for first-time setup and to download the day-one patch. After installation, you can play offline, but updates download over the network.
Crimson Desert on Mac and handheld PCs
On Mac, you need an Apple processor: Steam says so directly, and Pearl Abyss’s table lists only M-series chips. You also need macOS 15.0 or later, 16 GB of memory and 150 GB of storage. Pearl Abyss recommends macOS 26 Tahoe or later. The “For this Mac” preset picks the settings, and the targets are given for resolution upscaled with MetalFX — on macOS 26, with frame interpolation as well.
| Tier | Apple chip | Target on macOS 15 | Target on macOS 26+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | M2 Pro, M3, M4 | 720p or 900p, 30 FPS | 720p or 900p, 60 FPS |
| Recommended | M3 Pro, M4 Pro, M5 | 1080p, 30 FPS | 1080p, 60 FPS |
| High | M2 Max, M3 Max | 1440p, 30 FPS | 1440p, 60 FPS |
| Ultra | M3 Ultra, M4 Max | 4K, 40 FPS | 4K, 60 FPS |
For the ROG Xbox Ally, Pearl Abyss lists 720p at 40 FPS with FSR 3 frame generation. The ROG Xbox Ally X gets three modes: 1080p upscaled from 720p with FSR 3 frame generation (60 FPS), the same upscaling without frame generation (40 FPS), or 1080p at 30 FPS. The measurements were taken plugged in and in Turbo mode. As of October 21, 2026, Valve lists the game as Unsupported on Steam Deck due to graphics performance.
How to check your PC
Windows’ built-in tools are enough; the paths come from Microsoft’s help page.
Check your processor, memory and Windows version
Open Settings → System → About. Under “Device specifications,” you’ll see the processor and RAM amount (16 GB is required); under “Windows specifications,” the OS version.
Result: You can see the processor, RAM amount and Windows version, such as 22H2.
Identify your graphics card
Press Win + R and type dxdiag. The DirectX version is on the System tab under System Information, and the graphics card model is on the Display tab. Find your model, or the closest one to it, in the rows of the tier table.
Result: You know your graphics card and DirectX version.
Check your SSD and free space
In Settings, open System → Storage and check the free space. The drive type is shown in Task Manager on the Performance tab: the game must be installed on an SSD.
Result: You know whether your SSD has 150 GB of free space.
What to do if your PC is weaker
- Choose the Minimum or Low preset. Even Pearl Abyss’s minimum tier targets 1080p upscaled from 900p at 30 FPS.
- Turn on an upscaler. FSR, DLSS or XeSS reduce the load on the graphics card. The developers advise enabling DLSS Multi Frame Generation only if the base frame rate is high enough; otherwise, responsiveness and image stability suffer.
- Update your drivers to the versions Pearl Abyss names: AMD 25.9.2 or NVIDIA 581.29 and later.
- Free up space on your SSD. The requirements don’t cover HDDs; the difference between drive types is explained in “HDD vs SSD”. If your SSD is full of other games, you can move them to another drive in Steam.
- Upgrade. If the graphics card falls short, see the graphics card roundup; if it’s the processor, see the CPU roundup. Without 16 GB of RAM, graphics settings won’t help: that amount is listed for every tier.
Sources and methodology
Analysis of public sourcesChecked 21 October 2026
- Steam — Crimson Desert store.steampowered.com
- Pearl Abyss — PC, Console, Mac Performance Specs (March 10, 2026) store.steampowered.com
- Pearl Abyss — Frequently Asked Questions (March 12, 2026) store.steampowered.com
- Pearl Abyss — Patch Notes Version 1.03.00 (April 11, 2026) store.steampowered.com
- Pearl Abyss — Crimson Desert Enhanced Update Now Available (August 25, 2026) store.steampowered.com
Frequently asked questions
Can Crimson Desert run on a hard drive?
Not according to the requirements. Both Steam and Pearl Abyss list an SSD as required for every tier, with 150 GB of space.
Is 8 GB of RAM enough?
No. For every tier, from minimum to Ultra, Pearl Abyss lists 16 GB of RAM. Mac needs the same amount.
Are Intel Arc graphics cards supported?
Yes, since update 1.03.00 on April 11, 2026. Pearl Abyss says it will keep improving compatibility and performance on Intel graphics cards.
How is Crimson Desert Enhanced different from the regular version?
It’s the free 2.00.00 update from August 25, 2026 for all owners of the game: new story scenes, voice-over in German, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese, Arabic interface and subtitles, and all previously released patches. You don’t need to buy it separately.
Can you play Crimson Desert offline?
Yes, after first-time setup. You need the internet to install the day-one patch and later updates.
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