Gears of War: E-Day sets its PC requirements: SSD and ray tracing mandatory

Microsoft and The Coalition have now laid out the final PC requirements for Gears of War: E-Day, as reported by Vandal. For the first time, the studio details three different configurations, and they all share the same goal: hitting 60 FPS, whether at 1080p, 1440p or 4K. The game runs on Unreal Engine 5 and, in all three scenarios, requires an SSD and a graphics card with hardware ray tracing.

The news matters because it marks where the entry barrier sits for one of the most anticipated Xbox releases on PC. Making hardware RT mandatory even at the minimum configuration rules out a share of the rigs still in use in many homes, and the 115 GB SSD install isn't a minor detail either for anyone living with their drive close to full.

What you need to know

• There are three official configurations and all three target 60 FPS: minimum at 1080p, recommended at 1440p and ultra at 4K.
• In every case you need an SSD and a GPU that supports hardware ray tracing.
• The minimum configuration is designed for 1080p at medium quality with upscaling (DLSS, FSR or TSR).
• The minimum calls for 12 GB of RAM, 6 GB of VRAM and 115 GB of SSD space.
• The recommended profile steps up to 1440p with high settings, and for 4K at ultra The Coalition is already asking for considerably more powerful hardware.

Exactly what the minimum configuration requires

The only profile the source breaks down in full is the minimum, so that's the one we can put in a table without making anything up. It's the starting point for playing at 1080p, 60 FPS and medium quality with the help of upscaling.

As for the recommended and ultra profiles, Vandal only reveals the target (1440p with high settings and 4K at ultra, respectively) and warns that the hardware jump for 4K is considerable. There are no specific figures for those two tiers in the published information, so we're not going to fill them in on our own.

What changes and who it affects

The most relevant part isn't so much the list of components as the two conditions that run through it from top to bottom. The first is the mandatory SSD, something that's already becoming the norm for major Unreal Engine 5 releases, but which still leaves mechanical hard drives by the wayside. The second, and the one that will make the most noise, is hardware ray tracing as a non-negotiable requirement. This means the floor of the list is set by an RTX 2060 or an RX 6600: any card older than those generations, no matter how much raw muscle it has, is out.

The impact is clear for three types of player. Anyone running a modest 1080p rig can breathe easy as long as their GPU supports RT, but they'll have to settle for medium quality and upscaling to reach 60 FPS. Anyone playing at 1440p lands in recommended territory, with high settings. And anyone who wants 4K at ultra should brace for a serious investment, because The Coalition itself warns that this tier demands considerably more power.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz newsroom we understand the technical bet: Unreal Engine 5 with ray tracing built into the lighting itself is the path more and more studios are taking, and forcing RT simplifies development. But for the competitive community the reading is different. Having the minimum guarantee 60 FPS at 1080p with medium quality and upscaling is fine for enjoying the campaign, but anyone playing seriously wants stability, low latency and high refresh rates, and on that front the official information still says nothing. We're concerned that PvP players will have to lower their settings quite a bit to make the game feel the way they want it to.

For content creators the equation gets even more complicated. Recording or streaming while playing eats up resources, and if the ultra profile at 4K already demands considerably more powerful hardware, anyone who wants to show off E-Day with everything maxed out will need a high-end rig or accept that their stream won't be at the resolution they'd like. And the 115 GB install is another toll: it's not the heaviest on the market, but it forces you to make room.

In short, the requirements aren't outrageous, but mandatory RT is a red line that takes plenty of still-functional hardware out of the equation. We'd like The Coalition to also publish recommendations aimed at high frame rates, not just 60 FPS, because a Gears without smooth multiplayer loses a good part of its appeal.

What do you think?

We're certain that mandatory ray tracing is going to spark debate in the team, especially among those still running a GTX who had the game on their wishlist. Now it's your turn: does your PC meet the minimum specs for Gears of War: E-Day, or is it time to upgrade? Tell us in the team chat or drop by our Discord to discuss it with the rest of the community.