Strategy · 2012 · Firaxis Games
XCOM: Enemy Unknown System Requirements
XCOM: Enemy Unknown is very light on modern hardware by 2026 standards. It wants 4GB of memory for a comfortable experience. Set aside 20GB of free space.
Check my PC against this gameFull system requirements
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows | Windows |
| DirectX | DirectX 9 | DirectX 9 |
| Processor | 2 GHz Dual Core | 2 GHz Dual Core (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz)≈ AMD Phenom 9850 |
| Graphics card | NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT / ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or greater≈ Intel HD Graphics 4000 | NVIDIA GeForce 9000 series / ATI Radeon HD 3000 series or greater≈ Intel HD Graphics 4000 |
| Video memory | 1 GB | — |
| System memory | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Storage | 20 GB | 20 GB |
Estimated performance by graphics card
High preset, upscaling off, paired with a AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D-class processor.
| Graphics card | Tier | 1080p | 1440p | 4K | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 | S | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 | S | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Ti | A | 1434 | 1434 | 1434 | Recommended spec |
Modelled estimates rather than captured runs — see our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What are the minimum requirements for XCOM: Enemy Unknown?
At least 2GB of system memory, a graphics card with 1GB of VRAM (roughly a Intel HD Graphics 4000 or better), 20GB of free storage, Windows and DirectX 9.
What are the recommended specs?
For a comfortable experience: 4GB of memory and a card with GB of VRAM — around a Intel HD Graphics 4000, paired with a AMD Phenom 9850 or equivalent.
Is XCOM: Enemy Unknown demanding on PC?
It is very light on modern hardware by 2026 standards, with a recommended GPU score of 1/100. It is primarily CPU-bound.
