Square Enix's perpetually disingenuously named Final Fantasy series returns to PC in March, and the team behind the development of its 15th major iteration have unveiled a brand new trailer to show off visuals and technologies involved in its Windows debut. Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition bumps up texture resolution and image quality settings across the board, in addition to incorporating a wide range of NVIDIA GameWorks features to aid in immersion.
Frankly, the trailer looks awesome. The art direction for Final Fantasy XV was already second to none and was stunning on console despite modest hardware capabilities. Even this small amount of footage makes it seem like a peerless game from a visual standpoint, which is fantastic when you consider the games which are already available on our favourite platform.
So what can we expect from a technological standpoint? Getting a shout-out in this trailer are:
- Ultimate Quality Settings
- 4K High-Resolution Textures (8K maximum in-game resolution)
- HDR10 support
- DOLBY ATMOS Audio
- NVIDIA TurfEffects for more realistic grass simulation
- NVIDIA HairWorks
- NVIDIA Flow smoke, fire combustible fluid effects
- NVIDIA HFTS shadow algorithms
- NVIDIA VXAO ambient occlusion
- NVIDIA Ansel
- First Person Camera Mode
- 4K High-Resolution Textures (8K maximum in-game resolution)
- HDR10 support
- DOLBY ATMOS Audio
- NVIDIA TurfEffects for more realistic grass simulation
- NVIDIA HairWorks
- NVIDIA Flow smoke, fire combustible fluid effects
- NVIDIA HFTS shadow algorithms
- NVIDIA VXAO ambient occlusion
- NVIDIA Ansel
- First Person Camera Mode
Final Fantasy XV Windows Edition will be sold through Steam, Origin and Windows stores as a version that incorporates previous season pass DLC and a smidgeon of new content. The official system requirements are as follows:
Final Fantasy XV Minimum System Requirements - 720p
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz or AMD FX-6100 3.3GHz
RAM: 8 GB System Memory
GPU RAM: 2GB Video Memory
GPU: GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon R9 280
HDD: 100GB+ Available Hard Drive Space
API: DirectX 11
Final Fantasy XV Recommended System Requirements - 1080p
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz or AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz
RAM: 16 GB System Memory
GPU RAM: 4 GB Video Memory
GPU: GeForce GTX GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or Radeon RX 480 4GB
HDD: 100GB+ Available Hard Drive Space
API: DirectX 11
Final Fantasy XV Ultra System Requirements - 4K
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 3.6 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz
RAM: 16 GB System Memory
GPU RAM: 11 GB Video Memory
GPU: GeForce GTX GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
HDD: 155GB+ Available Hard Drive Space
API: DirectX 11
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500 3.3GHz or AMD FX-6100 3.3GHz
RAM: 8 GB System Memory
GPU RAM: 2GB Video Memory
GPU: GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon R9 280
HDD: 100GB+ Available Hard Drive Space
API: DirectX 11
Final Fantasy XV Recommended System Requirements - 1080p
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz or AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz
RAM: 16 GB System Memory
GPU RAM: 4 GB Video Memory
GPU: GeForce GTX GeForce GTX 1060 6GB or Radeon RX 480 4GB
HDD: 100GB+ Available Hard Drive Space
API: DirectX 11
Final Fantasy XV Ultra System Requirements - 4K
OS: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i7-7700 3.6 GHz or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 3.6 GHz
RAM: 16 GB System Memory
GPU RAM: 11 GB Video Memory
GPU: GeForce GTX GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
HDD: 155GB+ Available Hard Drive Space
API: DirectX 11
Protracted price increases for memory and GPU hardware makes the system requirements seem much more stringent than they should be; it's not Square's fault that GPU and DRAM prices have ballooned over the last year. Plus, you'd best clear out some space on your SSD due to the 100+ GB storage requirements.
One major question-mark will be actual in-game performance, especially on systems with AMD graphics hardware given the level to which NVIDIA GameWorks technology is being leveraged (presupposing they've not all been retrofitted to mine Ethereum). Once again, despite Square Enix being generally reliable with their Windows ports, it's hold off on those pre-orders until you've seen reviews.
Still, if you're lucky enough to already have the requisite hardware and JRPGs are your bag, March 6th looks set to be a real red-letter day.