Phantom Blade Zero needs at least an Intel Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1660 6GB or Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB, with an SSD, according to DSOGaming's report on the official requirements. The publisher's targets assume upscaling is on: 1080p at 30 frames per second at minimum, and 1440p at 60 frames per second at the recommended tier. Digital Citizen adds separate ray tracing and path tracing targets, which is where the heavy hardware comes in. Release is listed as October 29 by DSOGaming and Digital Citizen, while PC Gamer's calendar shows October 28, so check the Steam page for your time zone.
Quick answer: For a smooth 1440p experience, aim for the recommended tier: a Core i5-10600K or Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB of RAM and an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT. Ray tracing is listed separately with an RTX 5060 8GB targeting 1080p at 60 FPS with upscaling, and path tracing with an RTX 5080 16GB targeting 4K at 60 FPS with upscaling. An SSD is required at every tier.
The Standard Tiers
DSOGaming, reporting on August 12, 2026, lists two tiers for standard rendering.
Minimum:
- Operating system: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600.
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB.
- Memory: 16 GB RAM.
- Target: 1080p at 30 FPS with upscaling enabled. An SSD is required.
Recommended:
- Operating system: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit.
- Processor: Intel Core i5-10600K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X.
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB.
- Memory: 16 GB RAM.
- Target: 1440p at 60 FPS with upscaling enabled. An SSD is required.
DirectX 12 is listed for both tiers.
Ray Tracing and Path Tracing
Digital Citizen reports a separate ray tracing line with a GeForce RTX 5060 8GB as the recommended card, aiming for 1080p at 60 FPS with upscaling. For path tracing, it lists a GeForce RTX 5080 16GB aiming for 2160p, or 4K, at 60 FPS with upscaling. It stresses that both targets rely on upscaling, so they are not native-resolution figures.
DSOGaming says ray tracing is used to enhance reflections and shadows and that the game has no support for ray-traced global illumination. Digital Citizen says the game supports NVIDIA DLSS 4.5 Super Resolution and Multi Frame Generation, and it does not confirm AMD FSR or Intel XeSS. The two reports cover different parts of the list, so read both if you plan to use these features.
What the Engine and Protection Mean
DSOGaming notes the game uses Unreal Engine 5, though it says the author assumes, without confirmation, that Lumen and Nanite are in use. It also says the game uses Denuvo anti-tamper. Neither report states a price, so check the store page for one.
How to Prepare
Start by checking what you have. Our guide to reading system requirements shows how to find your processor, RAM and graphics card with Windows tools. If you are between tiers, a sensible order is to lower settings first and to turn on upscaling, since both published targets assume it.
If you want the path tracing experience, the price of the card is the main question. Graphics card prices have been above list in some stores, as we covered in our GPU price update, so do not assume a launch-window discount. Our high-end gaming PC build guide explains how to match the other parts to a top-tier card, and our RAM guide confirms that 16 GB matches the published tiers.
Common Questions
Do I need an RTX 5080? Only if you want the path tracing target of 4K at 60 FPS with upscaling. The standard recommended tier lists an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT.
Will it run on a GTX 1660? The minimum tier lists a GTX 1660 6GB for 1080p at 30 FPS with upscaling enabled, which is a floor rather than a promise.
Do I need an SSD? Yes. Both reports list an SSD as required.
Does it need Secure Boot or TPM? None of the reports we read list those requirements. Check the Steam page before launch, and see our Secure Boot guide if a future update adds them.
Sources: DSOGaming — Phantom Blade Zero gets official PC requirements, Digital Citizen — Phantom Blade Zero PC requirements target RTX 5080 for 4K 60 FPS path tracing, PC Gamer — PC game release dates for October 2026
