Dead Island 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the popular zombie action-RPG franchise, is set to launch later this year after over a decade in development limbo. The original Dead Island game and its follow up Riptide wowed players with its immersive open world overrun by zombies, visceral melee combat, and roleplaying progression. Now the sequel aims to amp things up with more over-the-top action, deeper RPG mechanics, drop-in 4 player online co-op, and full mod support at launch.
But what kind of PC will you need to handle all the next-gen mayhem? While official system requirements haven’t been released yet, we can make some educated guesses based on developer Deep Silver’s recommendations, benchmarks of the latest hardware, and the technical changes coming in Dead Island 2 System Requirements. Read on for specific estimates on the minimum and recommended specs, as well as some tips for making sure your current (or future) gaming rig can tackle the horrors that await on the zombie-ravaged shores of California.
Minimum Dead Island 2 System Requirements
Before we dive into the latest hardware you might want for smooth 60fps Dead Island 2 gameplay with Dead Island 2 System Requirements, let’s set the baseline with the expected minimum requirements:
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- CPU: Intel Core i5-6600 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or better
- RAM: 8 GB
- GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB / AMD Radeon RX 560 4GB
- Storage: 80 GB HDD
Recommended System Requirements
You’ll be able to run Dead Island 2 System Requirements with the minimum specs above, but don’t expect 60fps performance if you’re trying to max out graphical settings. For smoother gameplay at 1080p with all the visual bells and whistles, you’ll benefit greatly from an upgrade to the recommended specs:
- OS: Windows 10 64-bit
- CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K / AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
- RAM: 16GB
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8GB / AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB
- Storage: 80 GB SSD
CPU & Motherboard
Dead Island 2 System Requirements shouldn’t need a top of the line CPU, but a modern 6 core/12 thread processor provides plenty of horsepower for smooth gameplay and background multitasking. The combination of high single threaded and multi-threaded performance offered by options like the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and Intel Core i5-12600K allow CPU bottlenecks to be avoided across the board. Just make sure your motherboard’s socket type matches whichever brand you choose. AMD’s AM4 boards work with their Ryzen chips, while Intel 12th gen CPUs need a new 600 series motherboard.
If money is no object, springing for something beefier like the Ryzen 7 5800X3D or Core i9-13900K will let you push frame rates even higher. But again, with zombie slashing action, anything from the last 3 generations of AMD/Intel chips should suffice if paired with a decent GPU.
RAM
With leaked reports of Dead Island 2 System Requirements at least 8GB RAM for minimum specs and 16GB for recommended, make sure you are running dual channel DDR4 3200MHz modules or better. More RAM capacity diminishes game stuttering and leaves plenty of overhead for live streaming and background applications. 16GB is the best bang for buck right now for most gaming PC builds, but 32GB provides extra future-proofing for a relatively small cost increase.
Graphics Card
When it comes to playing Dead Island 2 System Requirements smoothly at high settings, your graphics card choice is easily the most crucial component. From the original gameplay reveals, we know Dead Island 2 is built using the UE4 game engine with enhanced physics and particle effects. Combine this graphics intensity with the fast paced melee combos against hordes of zombies, and you’ll need solid firepower under the hood, especially for higher resolutions. Some popular current-gen options include:
- 1080p Medium/High Settings: Nvidia RTX 3050 / AMD Radeon RX 6600
- 1080p/1440p Max Settings: Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti / AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
- 4K Max Settings: Nvidia RTX 3080 12GB / AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT
We don’t have specific performance benchmarks yet, but expect even something like the previous-gen RTX 2060 or GTX 1660 Super to hit over 60fps reliably at 1080p medium quality. Significant GPU upgrades arriving throughout 2023 will further improve cost per fps as well. But if you plan to unleash Dead Island 2 System Requirements full graphical potential at higher resolutions, nothing beats having some form of beefy new RTX 30 or Radeon RX 6000 card.
Storage
While zombies may functionally have no memory of their past lives, installing Dead Island 2 System Requirements on an SSD rather than old school hard drive unlocks a lot more loading speed. You likely won’t hit performance walls with an HDD, but switching to solid state storage cuts game boot and fast travel times tremendously. On more open world style games like this, an SSD all but eliminates immersion breaking texture pop-in while driving through areas quickly. If your budget allows, a 500GB-1TB NVME M.2 SSD gives you enough room for dozens of games with nearly instantaneous data transfer speeds.
Power Supply
One often overlooked component to avoid bottlenecking a new computer build is investing in a suitable power supply. While Dead Island 2 should be less resource intensive than leading FPS games, you’ll still want some overhead capacity if pairing high end modern GPUs and CPUs. Generally a 750-850 watt Gold or Platinum rated fully modular power supply offers quiet, cool, and efficient power for any single video card setup with room for processor overclocking. And don’t skimp on a cheap no-name brand that could fry your whole rig! Stick with reputable makes like Corsair, EVGA, Cooler Master, or Seasonic for reliability.
Internet Connection
With online 4 player co-op featured as a core part of the zombie mayhem, having a low-latency broadband internet connection unlocks Dead Island 2’s full potential. Slow laggy internet risks interfering with the timing sensitive nature of melee swings and critical hits. While the game doesn’t appear massively multiplayer oriented at launch, you’ll achieve the most enjoyment by teaming up with friends across a fast, modern home Wifi or ethernet network. Just think twice before relying exclusively on mobile hotspot tethering or outdated DSL speeds.
Putting It All Together
If all the talk of PC component specifications seems intimidating, fear not! Once you decide on a comfortable frame rate and resolution target to match your monitor setup, we can simplify Dead Island 2’s expected hardware requirements even further:
- 1080p 60+ fps Medium Settings – Mid-Range PC Rig (~$800)
- 1440p 60+ fps High Settings – Serious Gaming Rig (~$1500)
- 4K 60+ fps Max Settings – Top Tier Enthusiast Rig (~$2500+)
While actual performance won’t be fully verified until the game launches later this year, a good rule of thumb is building a PC equal to or better than the Xbox Series X. This offers cross platform development parity in the CPU and GPU department. If you can match or beat that consoles muscle, running Dead Island 2 impressively on Windows should be no sweat. Just note that takes some serious hardware over the minimum specs!
Conclusion:
Now that you have an idea what level of PC to aim for crunching zombie skulls smoothly at your target graphics settings, you’re also likely wondering what bonuses come with preordering Dead Island 2. While full details have not been announced yet, based on prior Deep Silver games we can speculate on some likely incentives for early adopters:
- Unique weapon skins for swords/knives to stand out in co-op
- XP boosts to accelerate that first playthrough
- Cosmetic clothing/costumes not otherwise unlockable
- Earlier access to pre-release beta testing sessions
- In-game currency packs to purchase gear upgrades
- Digital artbook/soundtracks for the collection
As soon as Dead Island 2 preorder specifics get confirmed, we’ll update this post so you know exactly what you stand to gain by securing your copy early. But if you loved previous entries in the series and already have capable hardware based on our system requirements guidance above, no need to hesitate reserving now!
The wait for this sequel has spanned nearly a full decade after its original (and very different looking) reveal way back in 2014. Yet 10 years later, Dead Island 2 finally rising from the grave to walk among to living once more. Get ready to return to zombie slaying paradise when Dead Island 2 shambles onto PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC later this year. We can’t wait to see how the extra development time translates to heavy hitting gameplay improvements while retaining that unique Dead Island essence.
So survivors, stock up on health regen stims, pad those homemade weapon blueprints, and ace your zombie dismemberment swing technique. The highly infectious next evolution of Techland’s decaying franchise is nearly upon us. What Dead Island 2 preorder edition has you most excited? And what PC gear are you planning to upgrade to enjoy the carnage in all its next-gen gory glory? Let us know in the comments!
