It wasn’t long ago that Bethesda and id Software announced a delay for its follow-up to Doom (2016). The sequel, Doom Eternal, is now set for a March 20 release, which is less than two weeks away. It wasn’t until now, though, that the full hardware specs were revealed. More importantly, if you plan on rippin’ and tearin’ come day one, there are a few things you’ll need to know if you plan on pre-loading the game via Steam or the Bethesda Launcher.
Loading before D-Day
Modern gaming often comes with a few caveats. Load times, patches, and updates can bog down any game experience when all you’re wanting to do is play. If Doom Eternal is already a confirmed purchase for you, you can make things a little easier by pre-loading the game prior to launch.
If you’re pre-loading on PC, then you only have to worry about having internet access 48-hours prior to the game launching in your designated geography. This is when you can pre-load Doom Eternal from Steam or Bethesda’s PC launcher. Those that pre-ordered the modern iteration of this first-person shooter will also receive Doom 64 for free. This freebie will unlock alongside the Doom Eternal‘s launch.
Of course, you might be asking, “So, when is that?”
Unlock times + Doom Eternal + You
To give some clarity to all the different unlock times, Bethesda and id Software have put together a little guide to make sure you can play as soon as the game unlocks in your region. For Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, the game will unlock at 12:01 a.m. JST on March 20 (7:01 a.m. PT on March 19). In North and South America, you can start playing the game at 12:01 a.m. ET (9:01 p.m. PT on March 19). And for Europe and all other regions, the blood will start to flow at 12:01 a.m. GMT (4:01 p.m. PT on March 19).
Hardware requirements
Lastly, id Software also revealed the official hardware requirements for Doom Eternal. We recently saw the news that it could hit 1,000 FPS for those wanting to make their eyes bleed get the best out of their PC’s hardware. Id’s notes have been updated to list this as the maxed-out settings on PC. The rest of the specs are far more forgiving, with even the minimum requirements hitting 1080P and running at 60 FPS.
The official hardware requirements changed slightly – specifically as it pertains to Windows 8.1 and AMD drivers. These have also been noted on a post on Doom‘s forum known as the Slayers Club.
PC Ultra-Nightmare Specs (2160p / 60 FPS / Ultra-Nightmare Settings) OR (1440p / 120 FPS / Ultra-Nightmare Settings)
- 64-bit Windows 10
- Intel Core i9-9900K or better, or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or better
- 16GB System RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (11GB)
- 50 GB hard drive space
PC Recommended Specs (1440p / 60 FPS / High Quality Settings)
- 64-bit Windows 10
- Intel Core i7-6700K or better, or AMD Ryzen 7 1800X or better
- 8GB System RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (8GB), RTX 2060 (6GB) or AMD Radeon RX Vega56 (8GB)
- OR (1080p/ 60 FPS / High Quality Settings) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB), NVIDIA GeForce 970 (4GB), AMD RX 480 (8GB) Note : On GTX 970 only – set Texture Quality to Medium
- 50 GB hard drive space
PC Minimum Specs (1080p / 60 FPS / Low Quality Settings)
- 64-bit Windows 7/64-Bit Windows 10
- Intel Core i5 @ 3.3 GHz or better, or AMD Ryzen 3 @ 3.1 GHz or better
- 8GB System RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce 1050Ti (4GB), GTX 1060 (3GB), GTX 1650 (4GB) or AMD Radeon R9 280 (3GB), AMD Radeon R9 290 (4GB) or RX 470 (4GB)
- 50 GB hard drive space
Doom Eternal will launch on PC via Steam and Bethesda Launcher on March 20.
