Let's predict the Witcher 4 system requirements so you can start saving up early

We've already had our first peek at what The Witcher 4 could look like thanks to an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo. It got us thinking about the Witcher 4 system requirements, and where gaming PC demands could be by the time CD Projekt Red's next epic RPG is due to release.

Now, let's be clear right at the top that these predictions are based on two things: Witcher 4's recently shown tech demo, and the sky-high demands we're already seeing from some major PC launches. We can't imagine you'll need the best graphics card to run the game at lower settings, but if you're aiming for high performance at 4K, well, you might have to start saving up now.

Here are our Witcher 4 system requirements predictions:

As the minimum requirement predictions, we've picked out the Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 and AMD Radeon RX 6600, as these GPUs meet the minimum spec for hardware ray tracing. If this is a requirement for the game, as we've seen in Doom The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, then we expect these cards to be the minimum standard.

However, hardware ray tracing isn't essential for Unreal Engine 5, with the Oblivion Remastered system requirements starting at a GeForce GTX 1070 Ti and a Radeon RX 5700. As such, The Witcher 4 may drop to this level of cards to meet the bare minimum requirements, but given that the game is still some way off, it's perhaps unlikely.

When we start to look at better performance at a 1080p resolution, our Witcher 4 predictions turn to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 and AMD Radeon RX 6800. These estimated requirements are loosely based on the tech demo, which was shown to be running at 60fps on a base PS5. The nearest PC GPU to the one in the PS5 is the Radeon RX 6700 XT, so if you account for the increased overhead of Windows, we reckon the Radeon RX 6800 and GeForce RTX 3070 are safe bets here.

Here are our Witcher 4 ultra system requirements predictions:

If you're going to target a higher resolution, such as 2,560 x 1,440, then you could be looking at an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Ti or an AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT. This is where things start to ramp up, as you'll need extra GPU horsepower to cope with the higher resolution.

If you're chasing 4K and 60fps, we predict that you'll need an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080. It's reasonable to assume that by the time The Witcher 4 release date comes around, the 5000 series will be a more regular fixture in system requirements.

While it's impossible to guess the file size for a game this far out from launch, we'd recommend perusing our roundup of the best SSDs ahead of time, just in case. This comes from CDPR raising the Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements following the release of Phantom Liberty, adding SSDs as a requirement.

Again, we must stress that these are just predictions for now, and until CD Projekt Red puts out official confirmation, it's not possible to know exactly what you'll need to play the game when the Witcher 4 release date rolls around. For now, consider this an exercise in creative theorycrafting.

While you wait for the Witcher 4, you can check out the best Witcher 3 settings and best Cyberpunk 2077 settings for PC, to get the best out of CDPR's modern classics.

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