Can My PC Run XCOM: Enemy Unknown?

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The XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Slingshot Pack is Now Available!

XCOM: Enemy Unknown PC Requirements

Minimum Requirements

CPU: 2 GHz Dual Core
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT / ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT or greater DirectX®: 9.0 Hard Drive: 20 GB HD space Sound: DirectX Compatible Other Requirements: Broadband Internet connection Additional: Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, DirectX and Microsoft .NET 4.
VRAM: Not stated
RAM: 2 GB
Storage: Not stated
OS: Windows Vista
DirectX: Not stated
Network: Not stated

Recommended Requirements

CPU: 2 GHz Dual Core (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9000 series / ATI Radeon HD 3000 series or greater DirectX®: 9.0 Hard Drive: 20 GB HD space Sound: DirectX Compatible Other Requirements: Broadband Internet connection Additional: Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, DirectX and Microsoft .NET 4.
VRAM: Not stated
RAM: 4 GB
Storage: Not stated
OS: Windows 7
DirectX: Not stated
Network: Not stated

✓ Independently verified against the publisher 2026-08-17Source: Steam store page

Game details

Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K
Released: 8 October 2012

About XCOM: Enemy Unknown

The XCOM: Enemy Unknown - Slingshot Pack is Now Available!

Official site ↗Steam ↗

What PC do I need for XCOM: Enemy Unknown?

For a comfortable experience, the publisher's recommended specification asks for the following. This is their figure, not our estimate.

Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 9000 series / ATI Radeon HD 3000 series or greater DirectX®: 9.0 Hard Drive: 20 GB HD space Sound: DirectX Compatible Other Requirements: Broadband Internet connection Additional: Initial installation requires one-time internet connection for Steam authentication; software installations required (included with the game) include Steam Client, Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable, DirectX and Microsoft .NET 4.
Processor: 2 GHz Dual Core (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or Athlon X2 2.7 GHz)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Operating system: Windows 7

Not sure how your parts compare? Run the check above or read what these tiers mean.

Can my laptop run XCOM: Enemy Unknown?

The same check applies — enter the parts your laptop actually contains. Be aware that a laptop graphics chip is usually slower than the desktop card it shares a name with, because the manufacturer sets a lower power limit. A laptop advertising the NVIDIA GeF named here may therefore fall somewhat short of it in practice, and sustained performance drops further as the machine heats up. Treat a borderline laptop result as optimistic rather than assured.