Final Fantasy XIV's upcoming graphical update has been in the works for some time, and fans got a new look at the changes it will bring during the Fan Festival keynote. Higher-fidelity visuals, however, will require more processing power to run.
When A Realm Reborn launched in 2013, it was released on Windows and Playstation 3. Graphics in video games have made many advancements in the last 10 years since the game's relaunch. PCs have become more powerful, Sony is now on its fifth iteration of the Playstation console, and FFXIV director and producer Naoki "Yoshi-P" Yoshida, accompanied by Microsoft's Phil Spencer, announced that the game is coming to Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X.
Now that gaming hardware is much more capable, it's safe to say that FFXIV's new paint job is long overdue. Those who play on a console will have nothing to worry about, but PC players may need to make some minor upgrades depending on how dated their hardware is.
New system requirements for FFXIV Dawntrail
| Minimum System Requirements | Recommended System Requirements | |
| OS | Windows 10 64 Bit, Windows 11 64-bit | Windows 10 64 Bit, Windows 11 64-bit |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-6700 or higher | Intel Core i7-9700 or higher |
| Memory | 8GB | 16GB |
| HDD/SSD Space | 140GB or more | 140GB or more |
| Graphics Card | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or higher AMD Radeon RX 480 or higher | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 or higher AMD Radeon RX 5600 or higher |
| Screen Resolution | 1280x720 | 1920x1080 |
These new requirements aren't the biggest leap compared to Endwalker's, as most MMOs don't push players' hardware to the extreme in hopes of casting the widest net in terms of accessibility. However, those who had previously been struggling to run Final Fantasy XIV at even its lowest settings may find that the minimum requirements for Dawntrail are more demanding of what their PCs are capable of. With over a year until the next expansion's release, there's plenty of time to make any needed upgrades before exploring the new world.
