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Metro 2033 Redux and Metro: Last Light Redux list the same Windows requirements on Steam. The minimum is a 2.2 GHz dual-core CPU, 2 GB of RAM and a DirectX 10 graphics card. The recommended tier is a quad-core CPU, 4 GB of RAM and a DirectX 11 card such as a GeForce GTX 480. Neither listing gives a target resolution, preset or frame rate, so these numbers show whether the game should start. They don’t show whether it will run smoothly at your resolution. This guide covers the listed specs, what each graphics setting does, and a safe order for adjusting them.

Metro Redux system requirements

These figures come from the Steam store listings for both games. They are the store’s published thresholds, not benchmark results.

Minimum Recommended
Operating system Windows Vista, 7 or 8 (64-bit only) Windows 7 or 8 (64-bit only)
Processor Dual-core CPU, 2.2 GHz or better Any quad-core, or a 3.0+ GHz dual-core
Memory 2 GB RAM 4 GB RAM
Graphics DirectX 10, Shader Model 4 compliant card (examples: GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB, GeForce GTS 250) DirectX 11 compliant card (GeForce GTX 480 and above)
DirectX Version 10 Version 11
Storage 10 GB available 10 GB available

PLAION Support also publishes a Metro 2033 Redux requirements page, which repeats the same processor and graphics thresholds.

Windows version caveat

The listings name Vista, 7 and 8, but Steam states that its client supports Windows 10 and later as of January 1, 2024. On a current PC, the practical question is whether Steam and the game run on your Windows version. The old listing doesn’t answer that.

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What the matching specs do and don’t mean

Identical store requirements don’t make the two games identical in practice. The settings menus and real-world performance can differ between them, and the listings say nothing about either.

Can your PC run it?

  1. Check the CPU: at least two cores at 2.2 GHz, or a quad-core for the recommended tier.
  2. Check RAM: 2 GB is the floor and 4 GB is the recommended amount.
  3. Check the GPU: a DirectX 10 card meets the minimum, and a DirectX 11 card comparable to a GTX 480 or better meets the recommended tier.
  4. Confirm you have 10 GB of free disk space and a 64-bit version of Windows.

Any modern gaming PC clears these figures by a wide margin. Settings only matter if you still miss your own frame-rate target, for example on a laptop with integrated graphics or when driving a high-resolution display.

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What each graphics setting does

The descriptions below come from the Metro 2033 PC manual. Menus in the two Redux games may not match it exactly, so treat these as explanations of the concepts.

Resolution

This sets the screen size the game renders at. Start at your display’s native resolution. Lower it only if performance is still poor after other adjustments, because it is the most visible trade-off.

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Quality

This is the broad control. It affects shadows, lighting and particle effects together, so lowering it is a blunt fix once targeted changes aren’t enough.

Anti-aliasing

Anti-aliasing smooths jagged edges. The manual says higher settings reduce performance. It doesn’t quantify the cost on current GPUs, so test it on your own PC.

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Texture filtering

Higher filtering improves image quality and lower filtering improves performance, according to the manual. No source gives a reliable frame-rate gain or a single best level.

DirectX mode, depth of field and tessellation

The manual lets you choose the DirectX version. Its DirectX 11 options include Advanced Depth of Field, which blurs out-of-focus objects, and tessellation, which adds polygon detail to nearby objects. Both are extra rendering work, but the manual doesn’t say how much they cost on modern hardware.

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Advanced PhysX

The manual documents an on/off option for Advanced PhysX under game options. NVIDIA’s graphics guide discusses rendering techniques and performance costs in the original Metro 2033. That guide covers the older game, so don’t read it as proof of a specific penalty in Redux or on current GPUs.

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A cautious tuning order

This sequence is a reasonable approach based on the trade-offs the manual describes. It has not been tested as a preset, and it carries no frame-rate guarantee.

  1. Set the game to your display’s native resolution and play at the default quality.
  2. If performance falls short of your target, lower anti-aliasing first.
  3. Next, try a lower Quality setting, or turn off the DirectX 11 extras such as tessellation and depth of field if your menu offers them.
  4. Lower resolution last.
  5. Change one option at a time and compare in the same scene, so you know which change helped.

No universal 60 FPS preset exists

No current hardware-by-hardware benchmark for either Redux game backs a specific frame-rate claim. Any preset promising a fixed FPS on a named GPU would be a guess. The settings above give you a way to find your own balance.

Free update scheduled for October 22, 2026

Deep Silver has announced a free Metro Redux update for existing owners, with the PC release scheduled for October 22, 2026. That date is still ahead as of this writing on October 7, 2026. The announcement describes improvements for modern hardware but gives no revised PC requirements or benchmarks. After the update arrives, check the Steam page again. Settings and requirements may change.

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