Tomb Raider PC System Requirements Revealed!

The PC version of Tomb Raider has been developed in tandem between Crystal Dynamics and long-time partner Nixxes, and we’re proud to be continuing this tradition. The relationship has spanned over a dozen PC titles, and dates back fifteen years. The PC edition also has the benefits of an ongoing partnership with AMD, with Tomb Raider extensively optimized to include unique AMD tech that supports AMD HD3D, AMD Eyefinity for capable PCs, and more.

So here it is – the full list of PC enhancements and features for Tomb Raider, including minimum and recommended system requirements!

System Requirements

Minimum system requirements for PC

Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista,7,8 (32bit/64bit)

DirectX 9 graphics card with 512Mb Video RAM: AMD Radeon HD 2600 XT, nVidia 8600

Dual core CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 2.1 Ghz (4050+), Intel Core2 Duo 1.86 Ghz (E6300)

1GB Memory (2GB on Vista)

Recommended system requirements for PC

Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8

DirectX 11 graphics card with 1GB Video RAM: AMD Radeon HD 4870, nVidia GTX 480

Quad core CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 565, Intel Core i5-750

4GB Memory

PC Enhancements

General Features

Full integration with Steamworks to offer cloud storage for saves, multiplayer matchmaking, achievements, as well as automatic updates and new content.

Support for Steam Big Picture Mode.

Configurable mouse and keyboard support.

Gamepad support.

High-end Graphics

Very high resolution textures with up to 16x the amount of data

Detail Tessellation to enhance the detail on many surfaces in the game

Higher quality shadows

High quality bokeh depth of field with near-blur

Tessellation algorithms used to smooth out geometry

Improved cloth, SSAO, quality wetness effects, and post-filter effects.

LOD quality is adjustable for better quality on higher-end machines.

Low-End Graphics

Crystal cares about TR fans being able to run on older systems, unlike many other games they still support Windows XP.

A lot of scalability options to suit a range of machines.

Chances are if you’re a PC buff, you’ve still got a handful of questions. In anticipation of some of the more common queries, we’ve tracked down the Director of Nixxes, Jurjen Katsman. Take a read through our Q&A below.

Q: Does Tomb Raider support Windows XP, Vista, 7, or 8?

“We felt it was important for all the Tomb Raider fans to be able to play the game, so we tried to keep our OS support as wide as possible. So unlike some other recent games we do still run on Windows XP as well as on Windows Vista, Windows 7, as well as Windows 8. We are not Windows 8 Certified, which is a Microsoft label they use on their store. However, we do test extensively on Windows 8 and are making sure Windows 8 users get a great game experience.”

Q: Is Tomb Raider a Steamworks title?

“Yes, Tomb Raider uses Steamworks for achievements, Steam Cloud save games, multiplayer match making, as well as leaderboards.”

Q: Will Tomb Raider support Steam offline mode?

“Yes, the game will definitely run in offline mode. However, you will obviously not be able to participate in multiplayer games in this mode.”

Q: If I purchase a boxed copy of Tomb Raider, does that mean I’ll still be able to play it using Steam?

“Every copy of Tomb Raider will integrate with Steam and use the Steamworks features; it does not matter where you bought it.”

Q: Will the game require the disc to be in the computer or is it able to directly download from Steam?

“Yes, when you buy the game in a store you will get a CD-Key for Steam. Just entering this code on your Steam account will allow you to download the game, so you do not necessarily need the disk. The disk is just there so you do not have to download all that data.”

Q: Will there be any DRM?

“We do not believe in strong anti-consumer DRM methods, so apart from the game using Steamworks and it having to be authenticated with your Steam account there is no additional DRM.”

Q: Does the game support 120 hertz?

“On hardware that supports this it certainly will. We do not restrict what refresh rate or frame-rate the game will run at, it will run at whatever frame-rate and refresh rate your hardware will be capable of performance wise.”

Q: What are your plans for widescreen in Tomb Raider?

“We support AMD Eyefinity as well as NVIDIA Surround to allow you to connect multiple screens and create very wide displays.”

Q: Will the game require the disc to be in the computer or is it able to directly download from Steam?

“Yes, when you buy the game in a store you will get a CD-Key for Steam. Just entering this code on your Steam account will allow you to download the game, so you do not necessarily need the disk. The disk is just there so you do not have to download all that data.”

Hey, Tom. I personally hate having to download any game paricularly if I bought the retail version.

Is there a way to circumvent the downloading and instead install the game directly from the disk itself? It is because of this that I opt for PC and console version. I miss the days where you simply install the game from the disk and play shortly thereafter. Or am I missing something here.....?

You can install from the disc instead of downloading no problem. During the installation process you'll get a pop-up to enter your CD-key to link the game to your Steam account, or to prompt you to create a Steam account if you don't already have one. I'm happy this is a Steamworks game myself because I really hate having to mess around with CDs every time I want to run a game, and most of my games are digitally downloaded either from Steam or GOG.com these days anyway. I am getting the retail version of Tomb Raider though, because I want to add it to my collection

Hey Shrensh. I've had Steam for years now.

The thing is, everytime I opt to install a game from the disc after having entered the CD-key, it activates it and when I click, "play game", Steam starts to download the game. That was the case with Max Payne 3. I was thinking, "didn't I just install the game from the disk but now I'm downloading it from Steam?" I had to wait several hours before it downloaded and afterwards play the game....

Any thoughts on the matter?....

That's pretty strange. The last Steamworks game I bought retail (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) I was able to play right after installing off the disc.

Have you tried this workaround on their support page?

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5357-FSQM-0382

That's pretty strange. The last Steamworks game I bought retail (Deus Ex: Human Revolution) I was able to play right after installing off the disc.

Have you tried this workaround on their support page?

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5357-FSQM-0382

Oh great find, thanks soo much Shrensh. That's exactly what occured when I attempted to install not only Max Payne 3, but also Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

I'll try this out when I have a copy of Tomb Raider.

You're welcome. Hope it works for you

Hope so too..... but now, I can't seem to find my copy, Grrr..

Q: Will the game require the disc to be in the computer or is it able to directly download from Steam?

“Yes, when you buy the game in a store you will get a CD-Key for Steam. Just entering this code on your Steam account will allow you to download the game, so you do not necessarily need the disk. The disk is just there so you do not have to download all that data.”

Hey, Tom. I personally hate having to download any game paricularly if I bought the retail version.

Is there a way to circumvent the downloading and instead install the game directly from the disk itself? It is because of this that I opt for PC and console version. I miss the days where you simply install the game from the disk and play shortly thereafter. Or am I missing something here.....?

I heard if you have a disc you can install and play offline but a steam code is also provided if you want to play multiplayer.

Mmmmm.... I may try to put this in my Sony Pentium 4 HT PC....

or my laptop!

None of them are dual core but they both have 2 GB RAM minimum.

Is Nixxes also the North American publisher in North America? EB Games here in Canada are not selling the PC retail version, only X360 and PS3. WTH! Any suggestions anyone, other than ordering stateside or anywhere else for that matter?

EDIT

Square Enix is the publisher

Edited March 6, 201313 yr by jedicri

I ordered my pc version from Game.co.uk

I have an account with them I believe, but long time ago. I haven't visited that site since...

Wait....

The PC version is Download only!

Hey!

That's not fair to retailers!

I agree... I wonder who's idea that was? I know I bought mine in the U.K. because of that.

I also hope this isn't a trend of future games. I like having a choice on how to buy.

In this case it's either you download or don't play. Only way to change that is not to buy it or play it.

If sales are low then in the future you'll see a disc again.

Not just that.

To download you need a credit card.

Some people don't have credit cards.

Most of the customers in the video game business are kids, they don't have credit cards.

They will have to ask their parents or an adult for it and I know when I was a kid, how many times did you think Dad let me use his credit card or credit card # for anything?

ZERO!

Even if the customer is an adult, they maybe like a few friends of mine that I have: they do not use a credit card online.

They don't care if the merchant's website is encrypted with a 2 Gazillion security system; they just won't use a credit card online, period.

Then there is the unfairness to retailers like me and there are many like me, including big national retailers who won't get a penny from the PC version this new Tomb Raider game.

I guess they were paranoid about piracy. You and I know a lot of the video walkthroughs online could not have been completed a week ago without doing something shady.

Karl Stewart from Square Enix said in one of the podcasts that PC DVD sales in North America aren't high enough to justify making a retail edition of the game, whereas in Europe PC DVDs still sell well enough for it.

I don't live in North America, but I can see his point. The only games store in easy reach of my home has a tiny section for PC games, and the local supermarkets don't sell PC games at all. I haven't gone into a shop and bought a game for over three years now, and in that time I've only ordered three retail editions online (one I only bought so I'd have a physical CD key to link to my Steam account for security reasons, and one was Tomb Raider, which I wanted to add the the collection of Tomb Raider discs on my shelf). Plus I think PC gamers are far more willing than console gamers go to the digital route because we can't re-sell our games, and are more likely to have faster internet connections.

It sucks for those people who have slow internet connections and low monthly bandwidth caps though, and for collectors too

Most of the customers in the video game business are kids, they don't have credit cards.

Interestingly enough, according to the Entertainment Software Association, the average age of a gamer is 30, and the average age of the most frequent game purchaser is 35.

http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp

This really sucks.....

More here on what Shrensh mentioned above: http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=128060

MEAGAN MARIE: [laughs] Okay, let’s get started, because we do have a lot. This
one is probably the most important question, one that we’ve been… We really
wanted to find the right venue to address it, because it is an issue, especially
in North America, that some PC gamers are concerned with. Why did North America
opt not to offer a physical PC edition of Tomb Raider, in favor of digital
download?

KARL STEWART: There’s two things to cover off here, which will
be great. This is a great venue to be able to talk to this. We are responsible,
as a studio, for developing the game and making sure that we position it
correctly as a franchise. We’ve spent a long time doing that. But once the game
is developed, we have publishing departments all around the world. We have
Square Enix LA, Square Enix America. We have Square Enix Europe, which has an
export department catering from Russia to China to you-name-it. Then we have
Square Enix Japan, who look after those territories. When we develop the game,
we then ask those territories to help define the best way to be able to position
that game in the market. I work very closely with all of the teams around the
world, myself and the teams here, the brand team. We have daily calls with
serious amounts of follow-ups, hence I’m up until 3:30 most mornings doing
conference calls at midnight from my office at home. But those teams are tasked
with coming back to us with the decisions that have to be made about the best
way to put our game out and how to sell it. In the case of the PC side, we
looked at it from a European and a US perspective. In Europe, the game is
still very much widely a retail PC SKU. It
holds up very strongly in sales. You have to have it. It’s part of the DNA.
Whereas what we’ve found in North America is that PC sales have slowly but
surely started to move into the digital space. There is a fine line between
producing a boxed copy at a certain quantity before it actually starts eating
into its own costs. You think, “Is it worth producing?” There’s distribution
costs. There’s production costs. There’s all these things coming into play that…
You have to make a decision as a business. I believe the decision was right. The
decision to turn it into a digital PC version and distribute it that way means
it’s accessible to more people. Like I said, it’s a tough decision to make,
because we’ve always done a PC version of the game, but we believe that this is
the right decision, and it’s one that… I have to support my teams around the
world in whatever they decide they want to do.

MEAGAN MARIE: Following up
on that question, a quick little side note. Will North America be the only
territory not to have a physical PC edition? We’ve only announced the editions
in North America and Europe so far, correct? Are we still establishing other
territories?

KARL STEWART: No, I think it’s safe to say that… North
America – and when we say North America, just so we’re clear on the
responsibilities, North America is Canada, the rest of North America, and also
South America.

MEAGAN MARIE: So South America will also be doing digital
downloads.

KARL STEWART: Exactly. That covers the remit of their
responsibility. Then, in Europe, there’s the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy,
and then the export markets and so on. They’re making the decision that they
want to create a boxed PC version, which is great. They’ll also have a version
on Steam. I have no doubt that it’ll also be on some other digital outlets as
well, to make the game as successful as possible. The difference is, in North
America they felt that it was a SKU that they didn’t need to put out that way,
because the digital version… They want to put the weight behind that. In Europe
they want to do a boxed copy. So throughout Europe you will see boxed copies
popping up all over the place. The final list… To be perfectly honest, it’s not
because I know anything different, but I’m not going to go quoting different
territories, because from an export standpoint it wouldn’t be fair to start
blurting out different countries the game is going to be sold in. I need to see
the final, final list in front of me.

I understand there is also a major problem for those who have NVIDIA cards who play with the game's graphic settings set on high. It is not merely a driver issue, but also a coding problem: the company did not receive the game's final code until this past weekend, so they were unable to release a new driver in time for the game's release. Expect a major patch in the future. http://hardocp.com/news/2013/03/05/nvidia_gpu_performance_issues_in_new_tomb_raider

This time around, NVIDIA card owners get shafted as the game was optimized for AMD cards first.

Edited March 9, 201313 yr by jedicri