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The Evil Within PC May Be Locked At 30 FPS

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As we get closer to the launch of Bethesda's The Evil Within, reports are beginning to surface that the PC version of the survival horror game may be locked at 30 frames per second, supposedly just like the console versions.

The news stems from Senior Producer Jason Bergman who mentioned on Twitter earlier this year that the game would run at 30 frames per second. Strangely enough, that post is gone. "We're 30," Bergman originally said. "Makes more sense for a survival horror game."

News of a 30 frames per second lock wouldn't be surprising. The company wasn't exactly forthcoming about the minimum system requirements when it originally released the recommended list of PC specifications. The company indicated that it couldn't provide a guaranteed experience for those with PCs not meeting the recommended specs.

However, Bethesda caved in to feedback and posted the minimum requirements, reporting that customers need an Intel Core i7 or an equivalent quad-core processor, a Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 card or an equivalent GPU, 4 GB of RAM, 50 GB of hard drive space and Windows 7 or 8.1. Bethesda's blog said that customers won't experience the game as intended on PCs that meet the minimum requirements, but they should still have a good time.

Save for that one missing tweet by Bergman, Bethesda has been rather quiet concerning the frame rate. Will PC gamers be able to squeeze 60 frames per second using the recommended specs? This set of requirements include the 64-bit version of Windows 7 or 8.1, an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, a GeForce GTX 670 or equivalent with 4 GB of VRAM, 4 GB of RAM and 50 GB of hard drive space.

We've reached out to Bethesda to find out where PC gamers stand in regards to the framerate. Will PC gamers be upset if the game is locked at 30 frames per second? Does it really matter whether the rate is capped in a survival horror game? Perhaps. As we understand it, you can cram a lot more detail into each frame if it's locked at 30.

Details, it seems, plays a major role in this horrifying survival game.

The Evil Within is slated to arrive on Windows PC, the two Xbox consoles and the two PlayStation consoles on October 14 in the United States.

UPDATE: Bethesda sent a link to here, which states that the game was intended to be played at 30 frames per second. However, there will be debug commands for the PC gaming crowd that will alter the framerate and aspect ratio. "These commands and changes are not recommended or supported and we suggest everyone play the game as it was designed and intended for the best experience," the FAQ said.

Also, gamers can push the resolution to 4K if they have the hardware.

Follow Kevin Parrish @exfileme. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

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69 Comments Comment from the forums
  • red77star
    Consoles are the biggest cancer for Gaming in general. We can push 60FPS with as twice as much details than on consoles.
    Reply
  • red77star
    30FPS no matter what game is -> unplayable on PC.
    Reply
  • Lmah
    Funny I wasn't considering this game until yesterday I was kind of in the mood to play a survival horror game. Then we get this news flash... I'll have to pass on this game if it's locked at 30fps, I haven't played a game at 30 fps since I was running counter-strike on a AMD-k6-2 500mhz with a S3 Savage 3D video card. Don't plan on going back, even if it's for artistic style or some other BS. It would probably give me a headache.
    Reply
  • antilycus
    wow, i have to have my Ad Blocker removed to add a comment? Good bye Toms Hardware. After 20 years of surfing, you've just lost me.

    To answer the question, YES GAMERS WILL CARE. We spend near $1000 bucks to run games at 60+ fps, so when a developer locks it into 30, it's losing it's core audience...it's a great way to make sure that console gamers are the future and PC gamers felt pissed on
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    first of all, you guys changed where we were supposed to comment and have not made a comment on a thread in over a month. lmao

    also, this is negative press. they will make this 60 fps afterwards and be like " oh we listened to pc gamers, look!"
    Reply
  • Borge80
    Wow I probably won't even buy it if that's the case, nice job dev's locking your game at 30 fps and losing customers.
    Reply
  • burkhartmj
    14335220 said:
    wow, i have to have my Ad Blocker removed to add a comment? Good bye Toms Hardware. After 20 years of surfing, you've just lost me.

    To answer the question, YES GAMERS WILL CARE. We spend near $1000 bucks to run games at 60+ fps, so when a developer locks it into 30, it's losing it's core audience...it's a great way to make sure that console gamers are the future and PC gamers felt pissed on

    Ad Block Plus doesn't pose any issues for me at least, sounds like a problem with your config.

    It's a given that we care. I've been thoroughly unimpressed by all of the Bethesda games not developed by Bethesda Game Studios, and it looks like this is just another game to follow in that long succession. Also, their minimum specs make no sense, a core i7 but a GTX 460?
    Reply
  • Jim90
    This 'extra detail' better be worth it - and noticeable!

    However, to totally ignore the PC enthusiast (where there might be considerable investment / extra horsepower to spare) probably isn't wise.
    And, at 30fps, there better not be 'significant or important' sections where gameplay speeds up - we'll definitely notice that at 30fps.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    During initial development for console, they probably tied framerate into the functionality of the physics engine or god knows what else, and they don't have the time, resources, or desire to separate framerate and engine functionality, so they just said "Fuck it, PC gets 30fps, too."
    Reply
  • Joseph DeGarmo
    Why lock this game at 30 fps when some of us have rigs which can handle Watch Dogs maxed? My rig can handle Battlefield 4, Titanfall, and NFS Rivals maxed at 60 fps and they all run on Origin. Where's the respect for high-end gaming PCs?
    Reply