Can I Run Descent?
Released in 2023, Descent is an action strategy game built by Tindalos Interactive. Publishing duties went to Focus Entertainment. The game supports a single player campaign. It is localised into 12 languages according to the store listing. There are 45 achievements to chase. The game ships for Windows alone. Its Metacritic score stands at 75. A gamepad works without remapping, since controller support is complete. Cloud saves are enabled. Over 14 thousand players have left a Steam review, so this is a title whose performance is widely reported.
Can your PC run it? →System requirements
Minimum requirements
| CPU | AMD FX-6300 / Intel Core i3-6100 |
|---|---|
| GPU | 3 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon R9 380 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 |
| VRAM | 3 GB |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Storage | 60 GB HDD |
| OS | Windows 10 or 11 |
| DirectX | Version 12 |
Recommended requirements
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 1800X / Intel Core i7-9700K |
|---|---|
| GPU | 6 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 |
| VRAM | 6 GB |
| RAM | 16 GB |
| Storage | 60 GB SSD |
| OS | Windows 10 or 11 |
| DirectX | Version 12 |
Verified from Steam · 19 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 science fiction setting, moving through tight tactical maps. The publisher supplies 13 storefront screenshots of these environments. It is played from a top down view.
Why Descent is demanding
Descent sits in the middle of the demand range, targeting 6 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, a tier a mainstream card from the last few generations reaches without difficulty. Descent expects 16 GB of system memory. The distance between minimum and recommended is wide, so Descent at the floor and Descent at the recommended tier are not the same experience. The install is small at roughly 60 GB, on an SSD. At only 6 GB of VRAM, memory capacity is not what limits Descent. The chip itself is. DirectX 12 is named, so Descent expects a graphics driver and card from the modern era rather than merely a fast one.
This reading comes from the published requirements and our own benchmark tables, not from the store listing.
Can you run Descent?
Older hardware holds up here: Descent runs on modest graphics, with 3 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon R9 380 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 enough to meet the minimum. Add 8 GB of RAM and a mid-range CPU and a PC several years old will play it fine.
Bottleneck: GPU
Projected by resolution
| Resolution | Projection | Headroom |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | Runs well | 1.26x |
| 1440p | Below the bar | 0.71x |
| 4K | Below the bar | 0.31x |
A projection, not a measurement. We scale the published GPU requirement by pixel count, since 1440p draws 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p and 4K draws 4 times as many, then compare against RTX 3060 / Ryzen 5 build. The publisher did not state a target resolution, so 1080p is assumed as the baseline. We hold no frame rate data, so no FPS figure is claimed. Headroom above 1 means the reference machine has room to spare at that resolution.
Common GPUs
| Graphics card | Verdict |
|---|---|
| GTX 1060 6 GB | Runs well |
| GTX 1060 Laptop | Playable |
| GTX 1650 4 GB | Playable |
| GTX 1650 Laptop | Playable |
| RTX 2060 6 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 2060 Laptop | Runs well |
| RTX 3060 12 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 3060 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 4060 8 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 4060 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 3070 8 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 3070 Laptop | Runs great |
| RTX 4070 12 GB | Runs great |
| RTX 4070 Laptop | Runs great |
| RX 6600 8 GB | Runs great |
Each card is compared against Descent's published GPU requirement, assuming an otherwise-capable PC. Laptop rows use the real mobile chip's benchmark, a mobile GPU is always slower than its desktop namesake.
Similar games you can run
See everything your PC can run →
Frequently asked questions
Can my PC run Descent?
Upload your DxDiag file to Idxdiag's free checker and get a component by component compatibility verdict for Descent in seconds. No install required.
What are the minimum system requirements for Descent?
The minimum requirements are CPU: AMD FX-6300 / Intel Core i3-6100; GPU: 3 GB VRAM, AMD Radeon R9 380 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960; 8 GB RAM; OS: Windows 10 or 11.
How much storage does Descent need?
Descent needs about 60 GB of HDD storage.
Can an RTX 3060 run Descent?
The RTX 3060 runs Descent comfortably, clearing the title's GPU requirement with room to spare.
What is the bottleneck for Descent?
On a typical modern PC (Ryzen 5 5600, RTX 3060, 16 GB RAM), the tightest component for Descent is the GPU.