The vast majority of new games released for the humble PC are published with a list of what hardware is required to run it and another list of ‘recommended’ specs. However, the breadth and depth of this information vary enormously, but not so in the case of the forthcoming voxel-based sandbox Hytale. Its system requirements are so detailed that you’ll probably be able to figure out the exact setting you’ll be using the game, long before you get a chance to install it.

You can check them out for yourself via Hypixel Studio’s news post on the matter. Let’s start with the good stuff to begin with, just as Hypixel does: listing the expected performance, graphics preset, and screen resolution for the minimum, recommended, and ‘streamer’ requirements.

Specifically, it’s 30 fps at 1080p Low for minimum, 60 fps at 1080p High for recommended, and “stable framerate with high-quality video capture and streaming at 1440p”. Okay, so two out of three isn’t bad, at least.

Minimum Recommended Streaming Performance 30 fps @ 1080p Low 60 fps @ 1080p High 60 fps @ 1440p CPU Intel Core i5 7500 (or equivalent) / AMD Ryzen 3 1200 (or equivalent) Intel Core i5 10400 (or equivalent) / AMD Ryzen 5 3600 (or equivalent) Intel Core i7 10700K (or equivalent) / AMD Ryzen 7 3800X (or equivalent) Integrated GPU Intel UHD Graphics 620 / AMD Radeon Vega 6 Intel Iris Xe Graphics / AMD Radeon 660M N/A Discrete GPU Nvidia GTX 900 Series / AMD Radeon 400 Series / Intel Arc A-Series Nvidia GTX 900 Series / AMD Radeon 400 Series / Intel Arc A-Series Nvidia RTX 30 Series / AMD Radeon RX 7000 Series / Intel Arc A-series RAM Singleplayer, with dedicated graphics: 8 GB / Singleplayer, with integrated graphics: 12 GB / Multiplayer-only: 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB Storage SATA SSD with 20 GB of free space NVMe SSD with 20 GB of free space NVMe SSD with at least 50 GB of free space available Network 2 Mbit/s connection for multiplayer 8 Mbit/s connection for multiplayer >8 Mbit/s connection

Moving on to the actual hardware requirements, you’ll immediately notice that none of this is especially demanding. Even for the recommended specs, you’re looking at a six-core CPU from 2019, a decade-old GPU, 16 GB of RAM, and just 20 GB of storage, albeit on an NVMe SSD. Heck, the minimum CPU is a four-core, four-thread Ryzen from 2017!

Truth be told, this is no different from Minecraft, where both Bedrock and Java versions sport system requirements so old that a degree in archaeology might be more useful for translating them than having some PC knowledge. However, as any keen Minecrafter will tell you, if you want to enjoy the game properly, your rig needs quite a bit more poke behind it.

A view distance of 1024 blocks looks fabulous but it might be tough on your PC. (Image credit: Hypixel Studios)

It’s the same with Hytale, but where Mojang just leaves you to figure it all out yourself, Hypixel Studios has gone into a lot of detail about client and server performance, network requirements, and how the game’s visual settings will interact with your hardware.

For example, it writes that “[an] Intel HD Graphics 630 achieved ~30–34 FPS at 1080p [Low]” and that for streaming, “One internal benchmark (AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, NVIDIA RTX 5080, 2x32 GB DDR5-6000) sustained around 400 FPS at 3840×1440 resolution with view distance set to 768 blocks in singleplayer while recording the game in AV1.”

I wish more studios would take the time to put this much effort into detailing their game’s system requirements. Just stating that it needs a certain CPU and GPU doesn’t tell me anything, to be honest: we need to know how well the game will run on that hardware and with what settings.

But even that’s only half the story. What about multiplayer or streaming? What’s really more important to the game’s performance, CPU or GPU? Do I really need 100 GB of storage space, or can I get away with less?

What’s the betting that Hytale runs just fine on Steam Deck? (Image credit: Future)

None of this will make the game better, of course, but if a developer is willing to carefully explain the relationship between the game, its performance, and your hardware, it suggests to me that it’s doing more than the bare minimum of just getting it run.

Hytale is expected to have an early access launch in January 2026, so it’s not long to wait to see just how well Hypixel Studios understands its game and PCs in general.

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