FTL: Faster Than Light — a light title that runs on modest PCs: specs & FPS
2012 · Strategy, Indie, Simulation · Subset Games · ESRB Everyone 10+ · Metacritic 84
Official system requirements
Publisher-published Minimum / Recommended values via RAWG, retrieved 2026-08-21. Real-world performance varies with drivers, resolution and your full build.
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Minimum: | — |
| Processor | OS:Windows XP / Vista / 7 | — |
| Memory | Processor:2 GHz | — |
| Graphics | Memory:1 GB RAM | — |
| Storage | Graphics:1280x720 minimum resolution, OpenGL 2.0 Support, and recommended dedicated graphics card with 128 MB of RAM | — |
| DirectX | Hard Drive:175 MB HD spaceSome integrated Intel HD graphics cards have been known to work but are not officially supported. | — |
Multi-GPU FPS estimate
Estimated average FPS by GPU at 1080p / 1440p / 4K, derived from FTL: Faster Than Light's demand tier (tier 1, Very light (runs on integrated graphics)) and published TechPowerUp-style relative-performance indices (RTX 4090 = 100), retrieved 2026-08-29. Planning estimates, not benchmarks.
| GPU | 1080p | 1440p | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| RTX 4090 | 480 | 380 | 219 |
| RTX 4080 Super | 480 | 341 | 196 |
| RTX 4080 | 480 | 327 | 188 |
| RX 7900 XTX | 480 | 363 | 209 |
| RX 7900 XT | 480 | 341 | 196 |
| RTX 4070 Ti Super | 440 | 291 | 167 |
| RX 7800 XT | 440 | 291 | 167 |
| RTX 4070 Super | 414 | 274 | 157 |
| RTX 4070 | 388 | 256 | 148 |
| RX 7700 XT | 399 | 263 | 152 |
| RTX 3070 | 362 | 239 | 138 |
| RX 6800 XT | 435 | 287 | 165 |
| RTX 4060 Ti | 319 | 211 | 121 |
| RX 6700 XT | 388 | 256 | 148 |
| RTX 3060 | 292 | 193 | 111 |
| RX 6600 XT | 330 | 218 | 125 |
| RTX 2060 | 264 | 174 | 100 |
| GTX 1660 Super | 218 | 144 | 83 |
| RX 580 | 253 | 167 | 96 |
| GTX 1060 6GB | 207 | 136 | 79 |
| GTX 1650 | 165 | 109 | 63 |
| Intel Arc A770 | 335 | 221 | 127 |
| UHD 770 (integrated) | 67 | 44 | 26 |
Method: a game's demand tier maps to a “GPU index needed for ~60 FPS at 1080p”; each GPU's relative index produces an estimate via a diminishing-returns curve, then scaled for resolution. Source: TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), 2026-08-29.
For the full hardware spec sheet and a deeper performance breakdown, see Full specs & performance data on GameFigs.
Age rating & regional compliance
GameRulePro pairs each title with its ESRB age rating and, where documented, real regulatory notes on loot boxes, skin gambling and randomized monetization. Every line is source-linked and labeled with its retrieval date. This is an educational reference, not legal advice — verify the specifics that apply to your jurisdiction.
| Field | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age rating | ESRB Everyone 10+ | ESRB rating via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21. |
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Open profile →Best graphics settings for FTL: Faster Than Light
Pick your PC and get a starting preset — resolution, upscaler, shadows, ray tracing and an FPS cap — tuned to how demanding FTL: Faster Than Light is on hardware. Print it and tune from there. Everything runs in your browser.
Best graphics settings for FTL: Faster Than Light
FTL: Faster Than Light hardware-demand tier: 1/9. Pick your PC above to get a starting preset, then tune up if you have FPS headroom or down if you're under your target.
Estimated starting point — real FPS depends on drivers, thermals and background load.
FTL: Faster Than Light — Best settings (Mid-range (GTX 1660 – RTX 3060))
Generated at GameRulePro · 2026-09-25
Release, patch & rule-change notes
Official release date: 2012-09-14. Ongoing patches and version history are published by the developer — for the latest patch notes, see the official store or support page. GameRulePro summarizes the official release only and does not invent patch dates. When a developer ships a rule-affecting update (balance pass, mode change, or ranked-reset), re-run the generator above to keep your house rules in sync.
About FTL: Faster Than Light
FTL: Faster Than Light is a roguelike strategy game set in space civil war in the Galactic Federation. You control a spaceship that has to deliver an essential package of data to the Federation headquarters. This data can help defeat the rebel’s army and finish the war. To do so, you have to travel through eight procedurally generated space segments. Within those segments, the player can encounter other ships and NPCs both friendly and hostile as well as random events. The gameplay’s key feature is that the player does not control the spaceship itself but rather the ship’s crew. During the game, the player can hire or rescue new crew members from different races. Each team member has its characteristics that affect how well he can handle different systems on the ship or his movement speed and fighting skills. The game is notable for its high difficulty primarily since ship’s destruction causes save files deleting.
Performance reality & how to tune FTL: Faster Than Light
GameRulePro editorial — these notes are based on FTL: Faster Than Light's published specifications and genre profile, not a single benchmark run. Use them to set expectations before you open the settings menu.
As a 2012 strategy / simulation title, FTL: Faster Than Light sits at demand tier 1 (Very light (runs on integrated graphics)) — light on PC. It is light enough for older hardware and even integrated graphics at lower settings.
What to tune first on FTL: Faster Than Light
- Real-time strategy and simulations are CPU-bound with large unit or scene counts — prioritize CPU and RAM.
- Turn-based titles are light; raise resolution and effects freely.
- UI and shadow quality are safe, cheap places to tune if you hit a frame dip.
The FPS table above is a model estimate from the demand-tier + GPU-index method. Real frame rates vary with drivers, background apps, thermals and resolution. Treat it as a buying or upgrade planning aid, then verify in-game. For step-by-step fixes, see the crash-fix and optimization guides linked on this page.
Sources & attribution
- Game data (release year, genres, platforms, system requirements, description, cover art) via RAWG.io, retrieved 2026-08-21.
- GPU relative-performance indices via TechPowerUp GPU database (relative performance), retrieved 2026-08-29.
- FPS estimates on this page are GameRulePro planning estimates from the demand-tier + GPU-index model — not benchmark results.
- House rules and tournament formats are community-style templates for casual play, not official rulebooks.
- Pre-launch intelligence (release windows, settings, editions, pricing, beta dates) is compiled from each title's official publisher / studio announcements and is source-linked per item with its retrieval date (2026-09-09). Where a detail is from reporting rather than a primary source, the item's source line states so. This is preview material, not an official specification.
- Per-game age-rating & regional compliance reference (ESRB rating via RAWG; curated regulatory notes) from the GameRulePro game-rules dataset, retrieved 2026-08-29.
How the FTL: Faster Than Light FPS estimate and rules generator are computed
Each game is scored on a 0–9 demand tier from its published PC requirements (and a year/genre fallback when requirements are absent). The FPS estimate compares your selected GPU's relative-performance index against the tier's required index using a diminishing-returns curve, then scales for resolution. The rules and tournament builder is a community-style template engine: it formats your group size, match format and tiebreaks into a printable sheet. All outputs are planning guides — verify in-game and agree house rules with your group before play.
Do more with FTL: Faster Than Light
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