Elden Ring has all the trimmings on console, but PC players won't be happy

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By Adam Vjestica
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A dark decision

Elden Ring
(Image credit: Bandai Namco)

Elden Ring has a maximum framerate of 60fps on PC – an arbitrary technical restraint that we’ve sadly seen before from several FromSoftware PC ports.

The news will no doubt frustrate those who were planning to buy Elden Ring on PC, especially as the game has all the trimmings despite the framerate cap: HDR support, 4K output, and a 60fps performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X (thanks, Eurogamer).

The game will also include ray tracing on PC and consoles, which is rather unexpected. An update will arrive later “via a patch”, but it’s unclear whether this will be available at launch or sometime after the game’s release. 

We also don’t know what PC specs will be required to adequately run Elden Ring, but it’s clear those with higher-end setups will be left wanting when it comes to performance. 

We recently saw 15 minutes of Elden Ring in action, and it looks like the latest addition to the ‘Soulsborne’ craze is shaping up nicely. The upcoming action RPG is a more expansive take on previous entries in the series and has been made in collaboration with Game of Thrones creator, George R.R. Martin.

Analysis: frame caps on PC make no sense 

The news of Elden Ring’s frame cap will undoubtedly be met with frustration from PC players. One of the biggest advantages that PC owners tend to enjoy over console games is faster, and significantly higher framerates. Depending on your hardware and the game, it’s possible to reach framerates of up to 360fps.

Unfortunately, Elden Ring’s technical limitation isn’t too surprising. Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3 were notorious for their lackluster PC conversions, with the games locking players to 30fps and 60fps respectively. 

It means that those who want to play at a higher framerate in Elden Ring will have to once again turn to a mod or workaround post-launch, which isn’t an ideal solution by any means.

There’s no doubt that Elden Ring is shaping up to be one of the biggest games of 2022. Even though the Soulsborne games aren’t for everyone, the punishingly difficult genre has earned a cult-like following within the gaming community, which will only get bigger after Elden Ring’s release. 

Players will get to battle all sorts of mythical monstrosities when the game releases on February 25, 2022, on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Adam Vjestica
Adam Vjestica

Adam was formerly TRG's Hardware Editor. A law graduate with an exceptional track record in content creation and online engagement, Adam has penned scintillating copy for various technology sites and also established his very own award-nominated video games website. He’s previously worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor and once played Halo 5: Guardians for over 51 hours for charity. He is now an editor at The Shortcut.