It has been discovered that the Halo Infinite Season 3 update, which was rolled out a couple of weeks ago, has a new VRAM limit. PC Gamer (via DSOG) reports how some users with older NVIDIA GTX 1060 graphics cards are no longer able to launch the game. The NVIDIA x60 line of graphics cards is one of several that are often released with multiple memory configurations throughout a generational product launch that can span years.
The original version of the GTX 1060, launched nearly 7 years ago, featured 3 GB of memory and subsequent versions had 5 GB (China only) and then 6 GB which included an upgrade to GDDR5X with its final version that was launched in October 2018. The irony is that NVIDIA had released the less powerful 1050 Ti with 4 GB of memory before it and those users are still able to play the game. It was said that users with cards featuring 3 GB VRAM were previously able to launch the game, even if the launcher gave errors, but this update now prevents that.
Echoes Within
“Echoes Within” brings a vast amount of new content to the game—new maps and modes, a new 100-tier Premium Battle Pass (that never expires), new narrative-focused events that pick up where Season 2 left off, two new Armor Cores, the M392 Bandit and Shroud Screen, Forge updates, a new Fracture event, and so much more…”
The Halo Infinite Season 3 update titled Echoes Within, added new content along with raytraced sun shadows. The added RT shadows were subtle but perhaps that was the tipping point for the change.
“Players on PC are now able to toggle Raytraced Sun Shadows from the Settings menu. When this feature is enabled, all shadows cast by the sun will appear more detailed in multiplayer gameplay. The Raytraced Sun Shadows option does not apply to the Halo Infinite Campaign.”
Regardless of what led to the enforcement of the VRAM requirement, the game’s minimum recommended GPU, as per Steam, lists either an AMD RX570 or NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti. Although both cards feature 4 GB of memory owners of other cards, even if they are more powerful, should doublecheck their VRAM before considering purchasing the game now.