Cinder City Recommends a Staggering 64 GB of RAM on PC
NC and developer Big Fire Games have opened the official Cinder City Steam page alongside a new developer preview, revealing fresh gameplay details and an unusually demanding set of PC system requirements. The upcoming cinematic science fiction shooter requires at least 32 GB of system memory and recommends a substantial 64 GB, placing it among a very small group of games asking players to move beyond what is currently considered the mainstream gaming standard.
Cinder City takes place in an alternate near future version of Seoul shaped by a single historical event that changed the direction of the 21st century. Mutated creatures, hostile factions, and uncontrollable criminal organizations have devastated the city, leaving enhanced soldiers known as Cinderknights as one of humanity’s final defensive forces.
Players assume the role of Seven, a Cinderknight whose journey begins with a mission in Samseong dong to rescue his daughter. That personal objective gradually expands into a larger narrative involving the hidden history of Seoul, the origins of the disaster, and decisions that could determine the future of humanity. NC describes the project as an open world cinematic third person shooter that combines narrative driven missions with cooperative multiplayer content.
The development team continues to structure the experience around 3 primary elements: cinematic shooter gameplay, a massive open world, and large scale multiplayer PvE. Story missions can be completed alone, while other activities allow players to cooperate against field bosses, instanced dungeons, dynamic events, and massive world raids spread throughout the city.
The open world will also provide access to tactical equipment such as drones and stealth tools, along with motorcycles, aircraft, and power loader mechs. Players will need to select equipment and abilities that complement their preferred role, particularly during cooperative activities where positioning, specialization, and coordinated execution are expected to become increasingly important.
Big Fire Games is developing Cinder City with Unreal Engine 5, with the objective of delivering a seamless and visually detailed interpretation of a ruined Seoul. The latest preview shows dense urban environments, futuristic military technology, large enemy encounters, vehicles, interior locations, and environmental destruction, while reinforcing the project’s combination of cinematic presentation and persistent online activity.
The most surprising information, however, appears near the bottom of the newly published Steam page. Cinder City lists 32 GB of RAM as its minimum requirement and 64 GB as its recommended configuration.
| Specs | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10/11 (64-bit) | Windows 10/11 (64-bit) |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-10400 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600 | Intel Core i7-12700 / AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D |
| RAM | 32 GB | 64 GB |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB VRAM) | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (8GB VRAM) |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 12 |
| Network | Broadband Internet connection | Broadband Internet connection |
| Storage | 50 GB | 50 GB |
| Sound Card | DirectX compatible / onboard chipset | DirectX compatible / onboard chipset |
The memory figures are particularly unusual when placed beside the relatively accessible graphics requirements. An RTX 2060 is listed as the minimum GPU, while the recommended configuration only moves to an RTX 4060 with 8 GB of VRAM. The processor recommendations also display a significant difference between the Intel Core i7 12700 and AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, with the latter remaining one of the strongest gaming processors available from its generation.
Steam does not currently specify the intended resolution, graphics preset, frame rate, upscaling configuration, or gameplay scenario associated with either hardware tier. It is therefore unclear whether 64 GB represents a measured requirement for large multiplayer encounters, a conservative target intended to provide additional development headroom, or an early specification that may be revised before launch.
Cinder City is not technically the first title on Steam to display a 64 GB memory recommendation. Other listings, including Escape from Tarkov and Seafarer: The Ship Sim, currently show the same capacity in their recommended specifications. It remains extremely uncommon, however, particularly for a major action game that only recommends an RTX 4060 as its graphics card.
For most current gaming systems, 32 GB has only recently become the preferred capacity for new midrange and premium builds, while 64 GB has generally remained more relevant for content creation, professional applications, extensive modifications, simulation workloads, and heavy multitasking. Cinder City could therefore represent an early indication that complex open worlds and large cooperative environments are beginning to place greater pressure on system memory, although actual independent testing will be required before drawing that conclusion.
The Steam page currently lists the release date only as “Coming soon.” NC previously announced that Cinder City was targeting the second half of 2026 for PC and consoles, and the company’s June 2026 product roadmap continued to position the game within that period. No specific launch date has been announced.
A 64 GB memory recommendation paired with an RTX 4060 immediately raises questions about what Cinder City is doing behind the scenes. The requirement may reflect the density of its open world, the number of active players and enemies, persistent world systems, high resolution assets, background streaming, or the operational overhead created by its large scale PvE structure.
It could also simply be an early placeholder. System requirements published before optimization is complete frequently change as developers gather performance data and approach release. The absence of resolution and frame rate targets makes the current figures especially difficult to evaluate.
What is clear is that 64 GB remains far beyond the configuration used by most mainstream PC gamers. Big Fire Games will need to explain what experience the recommended specification targets and whether systems with 32 GB can still deliver stable performance at higher graphics settings. Until that information arrives, the memory requirement should be viewed as notable, but not yet as evidence that 64 GB has become the new standard for PC gaming.
Would a 64 GB RAM recommendation influence your decision to play Cinder City, or do you expect the requirement to be reduced before launch?
