HITMAN World of Assassination PC Hardware Guide
Official requirements explained
The official minimum CPU is an Intel Core i5-2500K or an AMD Phenom II X4 940. That is an early quad-core processor, closer to a legacy entry-level chip than anything sold today. The minimum GPU is a GeForce GTX 660 or Radeon HD 7870, which is also an old budget-tier card by current standards. The minimum system memory is 8GB, the listed storage requirement is 60GB, and the publisher does not require an SSD.
The recommended level is noticeably higher. The CPU is an Intel Core i7 4790 at about 4GHz, a previous-generation processor that sits at the entry-to-mid end of the performance range. The recommended GPU is a GeForce GTX 1070 or a Radeon RX Vega 56 with 8GB, both of which are entry gaming cards today rather than high-end ones. Memory rises to 16GB, and storage stays at 60GB. For most players the minimum-to-recommended gap comes down to the graphics card: a card at the recommended level gives you much more room to run higher settings.
The publisher does not list a tier above recommended, so if you want better visuals than that, you will need to look at the build suggestions in the next section.
It is worth knowing that the SSD requirement is absent from the official list, but the game loads and streams a lot of data while you play. The storage section below covers why that matters in practice.
Recommended builds for three budgets
The entry build suits players who want to get the game running on a tight budget. The GPU is a GeForce GTX 1650 4GB. It only meets the official minimum, so you should expect to play at low to medium settings and lower the detail levels to keep things smooth. It pairs with an Intel Core i3-10100F, which is well above the recommended CPU, so the processor will not hold the GPU back. Sixteen gigabytes of RAM is the right choice here, because 8GB gets tight once a modern game runs alongside background software.
The mainstream build offers the best value for players who want a comfortable 1080p experience. The GPU is a GeForce RTX 2060 12GB, which meets the recommended level and brings 12GB of video memory, useful for high-resolution textures. It pairs with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600, well above the recommended CPU, and 16GB of RAM is plenty for this game.
The high-end build is for players who want high visual quality and higher resolutions. The GPU is a GeForce RTX 3070, which sits well above the recommended level and leaves headroom for higher settings. If you want more video memory, a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB is a sensible alternative. The CPU is an AMD Ryzen 5 5600, also well above recommended. Thirty-two gigabytes of RAM gives comfortable room for multitasking and recording.
Whichever tier you pick, treat these as starting points and adjust settings to your own monitor and frame-rate goals.
Graphics settings with the biggest impact
In a large-scale, detail-heavy stealth action game like this one, the settings that usually cost the most are shadows, volumetric effects, global illumination and ray tracing. Shadow quality and draw distance directly affect GPU load, and volumetrics and global lighting are especially noticeable in crowded scenes. If your graphics card is on the edge, lowering these first tends to recover the most headroom while costing the least visual impact.
Crowd and simulation density is another load source that many players overlook. More NPCs in view put pressure on both the CPU and the GPU, so on older or mid-range processors, trimming these settings is often more effective than cutting texture quality. View distance has a similar effect, and setting it to a medium level usually balances looks and smoothness well.
Upscaling technologies such as DLSS, FSR and XeSS are general-purpose tools that render at a lower internal resolution and reconstruct the image at a higher output resolution, easing the GPU's workload. Each has different hardware support and image quality, so choose based on your graphics card. Start with a quality mode and fine-tune from there. Frame generation is another option on supported cards, but it is worth testing whether the added latency bothers you.
Laptops and handheld PCs
Laptop graphics chips often share a name with desktop cards, but they are not the same. Laptop versions are usually limited by power caps and cooling, so their real performance can trail the desktop card of the same name. Before buying a laptop, check the power configuration (TGP) and the cooling design for that specific model rather than relying on the model name. If the machine overheats and throttles during play, performance will drop noticeably, so good ventilation and the original power adapter matter.
Handheld PCs such as the Steam Deck or ROG Ally are general-purpose portable devices with limited power and thermal headroom. You will typically need to drop resolution and graphics settings to keep play smooth. FrameScope has no Steam Deck verification data for this game, so this is general guidance only and we do not rate compatibility on that device.
For both laptops and handhelds, judge the hardware against the official requirements and the build tiers above, and plan on more conservative settings than you would use on a desktop.
Storage and memory
Sixteen gigabytes of RAM is the practical target, and two sticks running in dual-channel mode will give you more memory bandwidth and smoother performance. The 8GB minimum technically meets the official requirement, but it leaves little room once other programs are open, so it is not a comfortable long-term choice.
For storage, the official requirement is 60GB, but you should leave extra space for updates and cached files. The publisher does not require an SSD. Still, the game reads the drive frequently while loading areas and streaming data, so an SSD usually shortens load times and reduces stutter when moving between large areas. A traditional hard drive will run the game, but loading and streaming will generally be slower.
Finally, keep plenty of free space on the drive where the game is installed so updates and cache files can work properly.