Wednesday, March 22nd 2023
Halo Infinite's Latest PC Patch Shifts Minimum GPU Spec Requirements, Below 4 GB of VRAM Insufficient
The latest patch for Halo Infinite has introduced an undesired side effect for a select portion of its PC platform playerbase. Changes to minimum system specification requirements were not clarified by 343 Industries in their patch notes, but it appears that the game now refuses to launch for owners of older GPU hardware. A limit of 4 GB of VRAM has been listed as the bare minimum since Halo Infinite's launch in late 2021, with the AMD Radeon RX 570 and Nvidia GTX GeForce 1050 Ti cards representing the entry level GPU tier, basic versions of both were fitted with 4 GB of VRAM as standard.
Apparently users running the GTX 1060 3 GB model were able to launch and play the game just fine prior to the latest patch, due to it being more powerful than the entry level cards, but now it seems that the advertised hard VRAM limit has finally gone into full effect. The weaker RX 570 and GTX 1050 Ti cards are still capable of running Halo Infinite after the introduction of season 3 content, but a technically superior piece of hardware cannot, which is unfortunate for owners of the GTX 1060 3 GB model who want to play Halo Infinite in its current state.
343 Industries is yet to respond to these VRAM limitation findings, but those affected are remaining hopeful that the developers are working on a fix. The system requirements for Halo Infinite have not shifted much between 2021 and 2022 on the Steam product page. The Microsoft Store listing has not be updated to reflect the latest VRAM limitation introduced in the Season 3: Echoes Within update. Ray tracing is a notable addition to the latest version of Halo Infinite, since it has been long promised graphical feature - 343 Industries did announce an ongoing collaboration with AMD on ray tracing acceleration implementations in late 2021.
Those affected by the 4 GB VRAM limit will likely have to move on and upgrade to a more modern graphics card, and the timing is not too bad due to the GPU market stabilizing - with improved availability and slightly more sensible pricing in effect. Intel's Arc series has even injected some much needed extra competition into the sector, despite a rocky launch last year. There are some deals to be had out there, due to aggressive price cuts and transitioning to newer GPU architectures.
Sources:
PC Mag UK, Reddit User Example, Microsoft Official Site
Apparently users running the GTX 1060 3 GB model were able to launch and play the game just fine prior to the latest patch, due to it being more powerful than the entry level cards, but now it seems that the advertised hard VRAM limit has finally gone into full effect. The weaker RX 570 and GTX 1050 Ti cards are still capable of running Halo Infinite after the introduction of season 3 content, but a technically superior piece of hardware cannot, which is unfortunate for owners of the GTX 1060 3 GB model who want to play Halo Infinite in its current state.
12 Comments on Halo Infinite's Latest PC Patch Shifts Minimum GPU Spec Requirements, Below 4 GB of VRAM Insufficient
How lovely...
(just a joke people, calm down)
(Just a joke people, calm down)
Also, I don't play Halo, but I am one of those filthy peasants who games on an old GPU, a 1660 Super to be exact. While I would like to get something a bit newer (6650XT) the card does pretty much everything I want it to and is great for 1080p. The point I'm trying to make is, people on "older" hardware shouldn't be denied in playing a game they enjoy, that's worked just fine before a stupid gatekeeping patch, simply because their hardware isn't X or Y once said patch drops. That's a guaranteed way to piss off MANY people.
I mean, think about it: You pay $X for a game, play it for a while on your 1060 3GB card and it chugs along just fine... But then comes to this new "patch" that basically renders your lowly 1060 3GB unable to play the same game you've been playing just fine for X amount of time....? :banghead: :mad:
That's just a shitbag tactic right there.
Which is total BS anyway, a 10603GB runs this game WAY better then the "official" minimum GPU, the 1050ti, or the rx 570. Lets not forget mobile GPUs, the 970m or 1060m.
But het, we got bolted on ray tracing that literally does not shop up in their official comparison images. So yay?
Honestly, i said it once and will say it again... gaming PCs targeting AAA games in 2023 should have both 32 GB RAM and at the very minimum a 6 GB GPU (GTX 1660 series). GaaS (Games as a Service) titles, due to piling spaghetti code and/or increasing amount of assets or graphical overhauls, should always more or less be accounted for as a current-year AAA, unless they are known for being exceptionally optimized.
Now, if a patch does something huge like upgrading a major API version (thus rendering older hardware technically incompatible) that's a different thing. But what we have here is a clearly artificial limitation. There is a giant difference.