Game Mistakenly Demands 64GB RAM: Why System Requirements Need Reality Checks

When a Steam Page Turns Into a Hardware Panic

Inflated PC system requirements occur when a game’s listed hardware demands far exceed what its actual code and optimization need, creating a distorted picture that can push players toward unnecessary, expensive upgrades and undermine trust in Steam game specs used for PC build planning. Big Fire Games and publisher NC listed Cinder City on Steam with PC system requirements that recommended a staggering 64GB of RAM for the game’s “recommended” settings, a first for a Steam release according to coverage of the title. This 3rd-person RPG shooter, set in a near-future dystopian version of Seoul, initially presented RAM recommendations for gaming that eclipsed the total memory of multiple current consoles combined. The result was immediate confusion: was Cinder City a technical marvel, or were its PC system requirements detached from reality?

The 64GB RAM Moment: Specs That Outrun Console Reality

The headline figure was impossible to ignore: Cinder City’s PC system requirements called for a “crazy amount of RAM”, confirming a recommended 64GB memory configuration on its Steam page. That single number turned a routine announcement into a cautionary tale. For context, both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X feature 16GB of total system memory, meaning Cinder City was asking for more system RAM than several modern consoles combined, and that did not even include GPU memory. According to reporting on the listing, “Cinder City is the first PC game to recommend 64GB of system memory on Steam”. Even the CPU pairing looked out of balance: minimum GPUs stayed at modest levels with an RTX 2060 and RTX 4060, while the recommended CPU jumped to AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D alongside that 64GB RAM requirement. Together, these RAM recommendations for gaming stretched credibility far beyond typical needs.

From Error to Update: How Cinder City Walked It Back

The studio eventually acknowledged what many suspected: the 64GB figure was a mistake. Big Fire Games released updated PC system requirements for Cinder City, confirming that the prior 64GB memory recommendation was an “error” and apologizing for any confusion it caused. In their own words, “We identified an error in the memory specification listed under the system requirements on our Steam Store page… The information has now been updated to the correct specification (Recommended: 32 GB RAM)”. The new RAM recommendations set both minimum and recommended memory at 32GB, a high but less absurd value. At the same time, the recommended GPU was raised from an RTX 4060 to an RTX 4070, two tiers up the same product stack. Interestingly, VRAM details disappeared, and the studio stressed that current Steam game specs are based on a development build, not the final optimized release.

Development Builds vs. Real-World Optimization

The correction does more than revise a number; it exposes a deeper gap between development builds and real-world optimization in PC system requirements. Big Fire Games explicitly stated that Cinder City’s listed specs are “based on our current development build” and that, as optimization continues, “the final system requirements at launch may be lower than those currently listed”. They also pledged to provide “updated and more accurate system requirements closer to release”. That admission matters, because it shows how Steam game specs can reflect an unoptimized snapshot rather than the eventual shipping product. When minimum memory remains at 32GB while GPUs sit at mainstream tiers like RTX 2060 and RTX 4070, the profile looks more like a safety buffer than a measured demand curve. The episode underlines a simple reality: RAM recommendations for gaming in pre-release specs are, at best, provisional guesses tied to in-progress code.

What This Error Signals About Trusting Game Specs

While Cinder City’s team has promised to keep refining their PC system requirements, the 64GB incident leaves a lasting message about how players should treat Steam game specs. The numbers presented on a store page are not carved in stone; they can be wrong, or based on an unoptimized build that inflates everything from RAM recommendations to CPU choices. The fact that Cinder City moved from a world-first 64GB recommendation down to 32GB, and shifted its recommended GPU tier at the same time, shows how fluid those figures can be. For anyone interested in PC build planning, the takeaway is skepticism: treat early specs as a rough guide, not a shopping list. Wait for closer-to-launch updates, watch for optimization notes, and remember that what looks like a demanding monster today may settle into much more ordinary hardware needs once the code and the numbers catch up with each other.