Can I Run BioShock?
Released in 2013, BioShock is an action game built by Irrational Games. Publishing duties went to 2K. It offers a single player campaign. Its Metacritic score stands at 94. There are 80 achievements to chase. At more than a decade old it predates every current graphics architecture, which helps compatibility and limits how well it exploits a modern card. An age check at 17 sits in front of the store page. Its Steam review count passes 109 thousand, a large enough sample that odd hardware behaviour would be known by now. 11 languages are covered by the store listing. It is not Windows only, with macOS and Linux covered too. Cloud saves are enabled. Full controller support is present, so nothing needs configuring before a pad works.
Can your PC run it? →System requirements
Minimum requirements
| CPU | Intel Core 2 DUO 2.4 GHz / AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHz |
|---|---|
| GPU | DirectX10 Compatible ATI Radeon HD 3870 / NVIDIA 8800 GT / Intel HD 3000 Integrated Graphics |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Storage | 20 GB |
| OS | Windows Vista Service Pack 2 32-bit |
Recommended requirements
| CPU | Quad Core Processor |
|---|---|
| GPU | DirectX11 Compatible, AMD Radeon HD 6950 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 |
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Storage | 30 GB |
| OS | Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit |
Verified from Steam · 9 Jul 2026 source
Scores are deterministic, computed by fixed rules and benchmark tables, not written by an AI. How we score. Maintained by Farhad Ali. Spotted a wrong specification? Tell us.
Setting and environment
Players spend their time in a fantasy world, moving through combat arenas. Play is presented from a first person view. There are 9 official screenshots to judge the look from.
Why BioShock is demanding
BioShock needs only 4 GB of RAM. Disk footprint is light, near 30 GB. BioShock needs 64 bit Windows.
This reading comes from the published requirements and our own benchmark tables, not from the store listing.
Can you run BioShock?
BioShock targets a mainstream modern PC: DirectX10 Compatible ATI Radeon HD 3870 / NVIDIA 8800 GT / Intel HD 3000 Integrated Graphics and 2 GB of RAM for the minimum, stepping up to DirectX11 Compatible, AMD Radeon HD 6950 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 for the recommended experience. No single part dominates the requirements, so a balanced mid-range build clears it.
Bottleneck: RAM
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Frequently asked questions
Can my PC run BioShock?
Upload your DxDiag file to Idxdiag's free checker and get a component by component compatibility verdict for BioShock in seconds. No install required.
What are the minimum system requirements for BioShock?
The minimum requirements are CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO 2.4 GHz / AMD Athlon X2 2.7 GHz; GPU: DirectX10 Compatible ATI Radeon HD 3870 / NVIDIA 8800 GT / Intel HD 3000 Integrated Graphics; 2 GB RAM; OS: Windows Vista Service Pack 2 32-bit.
How much storage does BioShock need?
BioShock needs about 20 GB of available storage.
What is the bottleneck for BioShock?
On a typical modern PC (Ryzen 5 5600, RTX 3060, 16 GB RAM), the tightest component for BioShock is the RAM.