Beyond These Stars PC requirements: can you run the space whale city builder?

Beyond These Stars, the city builder from Balancing Monkey Games published by Hooded Horse, launches October 16 on PC. You build a city on the back of Kewa, a space whale that carries you from system to system. Along the way you manage supply chains, set up outposts on other planets and keep a fragile ecosystem in balance. The good news for modest PCs is that the minimum spec is low and the install is small. To play it the way the studio intends, though, you will want a more recent midrange graphics card.

Beyond These Stars PC requirements

These are the official requirements from the Steam page:

Both tiers list an SSD as a recommendation, not a requirement. The minimum asks for DirectX 11 and the recommended tier moves up to DirectX 12. For now the game is Windows only: the store page has no Mac or Linux requirements.

Which GPUs run it

Every popular GPU we checked clears the minimum. The difference shows up against the recommended spec, which is what canirun grades against:

• RTX 3060, RTX 4060 and RX 7600 meet the recommended spec and grade B.
• RTX 4070, RTX 5070 and RX 9070 XT have room to spare with an A. The RTX 5080 gets an S, overkill.
• GTX 1660 Super, RTX 2060, RTX 3050 and Arc B580 clear the minimum and sit between minimum and recommended, with a C.
• GTX 1060 6GB and RX 580 clear the minimum with a D: they will launch it but struggle. The GTX 1650 also clears the minimum and grades F against the recommended spec, so plan on low settings.

One odd detail: the RX 6600 XT is listed in the official recommended spec, but in our benchmark table it scores 15,900, below the recommended score of 16,200. That puts it at a C rather than a B. If you own one, you are right on the line. If your card sits in that range, see what else it runs with the GTX 1660 Super, RX 6600 XT or RTX 3060.

Watch your memory too. Grades assume 16 GB of RAM. With 8 GB you meet the minimum but not the recommended spec.

What about Steam Deck?

Valve has not verified it yet. Our spec-based estimate gives the Deck an F against the recommended spec, and on paper it does not reach the minimum. That is an estimate, not a real-world test. Keep an eye on the game’s Steam Deck page in case Valve rates it.

Can your PC run Beyond These Stars?

Here is how your PC grades against Beyond These Stars and against Satisfactory, another production-chain game with a similar recommended spec:

Game	Rec. GPU score	Rec. RAM	Min. RAM	Your PC
Beyond These Stars	16,200	16 GB	8 GB	?
Satisfactory	16,200	16 GB	8 GB	?

If you fall short, the full game page shows which upgrade raises your grade the most.

Sources: Beyond These Stars on Steam