Steam has posted the minimum PC specs for the upcoming mech-based shooter Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon, and it could be great for Valve’s Steam Deck.
For those unfamiliar with the Armored Core series, it’s somewhat of a cult classic made by developer FromSoftware before the studio became renowned for making the so-called "Soulsborne" games, the latest of which is Elden Ring. Unlike the Souls games, Armored Core is all about battling in big robot-like mechs, though you can see the genesis of some Souls elements in the games, such as managing energy levels and gaining an edge with smart weapon choices.
After the huge success of Elden Ring, Armored Core 6, which is due to release on August 25, is gathering attention from people familiar with the series as well as newcomers who are keen to see what FromSoft does with its next game. I fall into the latter camp and certainly have a curiosity about Armored Core 6.
Not least of all because the minimum specs to run Armored Core 6 on PC are similar to those required for Elden Ring, which means Armored Core 6 could run well on the Steam Deck, Valve's handheld gaming console.
While Elden Ring looks best at full settings on either a powerful PC or the PS5 and Xbox Series X, the game's art style still appeals at lower settings. So, with a few tweaks, it can be made to run at playable frame rates on the Steam Deck. And the same could be true for Armored Core 6.
The minimum PC specs are as follows:
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K or AMD Ryzen 3 3300X
- Memory: 12GB of RAM
- Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 (4GB of RAM), AMD Radeon RX 480 (4GB of RAM), Intel Arc A380 (6GB of RAM)
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: 65GB of available space
Now, I’ll caveat all this by saying there’s no Steam Deck certification for Armored Core 6 at the moment, so I don’t suggest you pre-order it if you only intend to play it on the Steam Deck. But going by the modest minimum spec requirements, I’m somewhat hopeful that Armored Core 6 will play nice with the Steam Deck. And it could also work well on the Asus ROG Ally, which has proven to be a fairly capable handheld gaming PC, albeit with a few caveats.
If you want something to play on the Steam Deck right now, then our News Editor Alyse Stanley recommends Dredge, Computing Writer Tony Polanco has some favorable words about Marvel's Spider-Man on the Steam Deck and freelancer extraordinaire Alan Martin has been enjoying Rustler — or Grand Theft Horsey as he coined it. And I’m currently using my Steam Deck to play Disco Elysium, which is nothing short of brilliant.
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