When the Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls open beta kicks off on July 24, PC players better be running Windows 11—and packing a punchy graphics card. Sony and Arc System Works have published the game’s system requirements, and they skip Windows 10 entirely while recommending an RTX 3070 for smooth combat. For a fighting game, that’s a heavier lift than most players expected.

The Official Specs: What the Steam Listing Actually Tells You

The requirements appeared on the game’s Steam page ahead of the beta, and here’s exactly what they demand:

Minimum configuration
- OS: Windows 11 64-bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 2060 6GB or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT 8GB

Recommended configuration
- OS: Windows 11 64-bit
- CPU: Intel Core i7-8700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
- Memory: 16GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 3070 8GB or AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT 16GB

Right away, you’ll spot the obvious typo: Nvidia never sold “GTX” versions of the 2060 or 3070. Those cards are RTX models. The store page mistakenly uses the GTX branding, so treat the listed GPUs as RTX 2060 and RTX 3070 equivalents unless Sony or Arc System Works corrects the text.

More critically, the listing doesn’t specify a target resolution, graphics preset, or frame rate. A competitive fighter lives and dies by its 60fps consistency, and while the Steam page promises 60fps during gameplay, there’s no indication of whether minimum hardware can sustain that at 1080p or only at lower settings. The recommended tier hints at a 1440p or high-refresh-rate target, but we’ll need the beta to know for sure.

What the Requirements Mean for Your Setup

For everyday Windows users and gamers, this spec sheet raises three immediate questions.

Windows 10 is officially unsupported

Windows 11 is the only OS listed at both tiers. That doesn’t guarantee the game will refuse to launch on Windows 10—many “Windows 11 required” titles run fine on the older OS—but it does mean you’re on your own. No bug reports will be taken, no performance fixes will be promised, and if something breaks, you’re stuck. Given that Windows 10 still powers over 60% of all Steam users (based on Valve’s most recent survey), a huge swath of potential players is left out of the official safety net.

If you’re still on Windows 10 and want to join the beta, your only path is to upgrade to Windows 11 before July 24—or gamble that the game runs anyway. Upgrading is free if your hardware meets Windows 11’s TPM 2.0 requirement, but it’s a hassle many fighting-game fans won’t want to deal with for a three-day test.

16GB of RAM is the new normal—even for fighters

A 16GB memory floor might seem high for a genre that historically ran on toasters, but it’s increasingly common in new PC releases. Street Fighter 6 lists 16GB for recommended, as does Tekken 8. If your system has 8GB or 12GB, you’ll likely face stutters or outright rejection. The good news? RAM is cheap, and upgrading to 16GB (or more) is often a drop-in fix for older machines.

GPU demands leap beyond typical fighting games

The GPU comparison is stark. Street Fighter 6 recommends an RTX 2070 or Radeon RX 5700 XT; Marvel Tōkon jumps to an RTX 3070 or RX 7600 XT. That’s a tier and a half higher. The minimum RX 6600 XT is itself a mid-range card from 2021, far newer than the CPU recommendations suggest.

What does this mean for your graphics card? If you’re running an older GTX 1060, RX 580, or even a GTX 1660 Super, you’re below the official minimum. You might still sneak in at low settings, but expect compromised image quality and potential drops below 60fps. Arc System Works’ signature stylized visuals—think vibrant particle effects, dynamic lighting, and a chaotic 4v4 format where multiple characters and assists fill the screen—likely explain the extra oomph needed.

For gamers with modern rigs (RTX 3060, RX 6700 XT, or newer), you’re likely in good shape for high settings at 1080p, and the recommended tier targets a comfortable 1440p60 or perhaps even 4K for the RTX 3070. But again, without published performance targets, everything remains educated guesswork until the beta goes live.

How We Got Here: The Context Behind the High Bar

Fighting games have traditionally been gentle on hardware, emphasizing frame-perfect responsiveness over eye candy. But that’s been changing. The shift to Unreal Engine (Street Fighter 5, Guilty Gear Strive) and heavily modified proprietary engines (Tekken 8) has pushed minimum requirements upward. Marvel Tōkon, developed by Arc System Works and published by Sony, appears to double down on that trend.

The game’s visual style is a key factor. Arc System Works is famous for its “2.5D” cel-shaded look that mimics hand-drawn animation. Achieving that effect in real time, especially with multiple character models, stage destruction, and flashy super moves, demands substantial GPU fill rate and shading power. The 4v4 gameplay—teams of four characters, with assists, tag-ins, and simultaneous action—only multiplies the load.

Sony’s first-party push into live-service multiplayer has also raised the production bar. Marvel Tōkon isn’t a small indie fighter; it’s a cross-platform (PS5, PC, Epic Games Store) release backed by one of the biggest IPs on the planet. System requirements often reflect the ambition of the project rather than pure technical necessity, and Sony may be erring on the side of caution to ensure a smooth beta experience and avoid refunds or backlash at launch.

The Windows 11-only listing is harder to justify technically. No known feature of Windows 11 is essential to a fighting game’s execution. More likely, it’s a policy decision—Sony may want to align its PC releases with Microsoft’s latest OS for support efficiency, or there’s a DirectStorage or other API dependency under the hood that hasn’t been disclosed. Either way, Windows 10 users are left questioning whether they need to upgrade their entire OS for a single game.

What to Do Right Now: A Pre-Beta Checklist

With the beta starting on July 24 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time (that’s 3:00 a.m. Eastern, 8:00 a.m. BST), you have just a few days to prepare. Here’s a quick action plan.

1. Check your specs against the list
Open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool (press Win+R, type dxdiag) and verify your OS, processor, memory, and GPU. If you’re below minimum on any metric, consider which component to upgrade—or resign yourself to watching Twitch streams instead.

2. Upgrade to Windows 11 if you’re sticking with the official spec
If your hardware supports it, a free upgrade takes about an hour. Back up your data first, and make sure your system meets the TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements. Microsoft’s PC Health Check app can confirm.

3. Preload the beta
Sony has confirmed that preloads begin two hours before the servers open—so on July 23 at 10:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The beta will be available on Steam and the Epic Games Store. No registration is needed; just head to the store page and click install when the button goes live.

4. Create (or remember) your Account for PlayStation
Even on PC, you’ll need a PlayStation Network account to play. It’s free, but if you don’t have one, set it up beforehand to avoid launch-night delays.

5. Plan your beta sessions wisely
The beta runs for exactly 72 hours, ending on July 26 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Servers will be busiest in the first hours, so if you want clean matches, aim for off-peak times. The client includes 15 of the final game’s 20 characters, online casual and ranked play, local versus, training mode, an open lobby, and the first three chapters of Episode Mode—plenty to keep you busy.

6. Report your findings
If you’re on Windows 10 but try the beta anyway, share your experience on forums and social media. Real-world performance data will help the community decide whether the OS requirement is a hard lock or just a sticker. Similarly, if you’re pushing minimum or near-minimum hardware, your frame-rate logs will be valuable.

Outlook: What Comes After the Beta

The open beta is the first public test of Marvel Tōkon’s PC performance, and it will answer the biggest open questions: Will Windows 10 rigs actually work? Can a GTX 1660 Super scrape by at 60fps? How well does the RTX 2060 handle the 4v4 chaos? The answers will shape buying decisions ahead of the full release on August 6.

If history is any guide, Arc System Works will issue a day-one patch that tightens performance and may expand official OS support if the beta proves Windows 10 compatibility is trivial. But don’t count on it. The studio has stuck to its published requirements for previous PC ports, and Sony’s involvement adds a layer of corporate caution.

Keep an eye on the Steam page and official PlayStation Blog for last-minute updates. And if you’re shopping for upgrades, now is the time—GPU prices have stabilized, and a used RTX 3070 or RX 7600 XT can be had for reasonable sums. For everyone else, the beta will be a useful stress test that tells you whether your rig can survive the fighting game’s new hardware era.