What is Portal with RTX?
You will want to know the Portal RTX release date after it was announced at the recent NVIDIA GeForce Beyond conference, as it gives the classic first-person puzzler a fresh new look. Portal is one of the most acclaimed and celebrated video games of all time, and despite being released 15 years ago, it's still frequently spoken about in the mainstream.
With the RTX remaster that's set to come later this year, some people may finally try out Portal for the first time, so check out our primer on the Portal RTX release date.
Portal RTX Release Date
Click to enlargeAfter the announcement trailer for Portal RTX at the NVIDIA GeForce Beyond conference, it was given a release window of November 2022.
While the game didn't make that date, it did arrive on December 8, 2022, as a free upgrade for all Portal owners. It's only available on PC, though, so as you may have expected, Orange Box players won't be able to download it on their Xbox 360 or PS3 consoles.
What Is Portal RTX?
Portal RTX is a modified version of the original Portal that was revealed during the NVIDIA GeForce Beyond conference in September. This version of Portal enables the RTX platform, which allows for real-time ray tracing to occur during gameplay.
For those who don't know, ray tracing is a feature that generates an image by tracing rays cast through pixels and simulates the effects of the encounter. The most notable aspects of ray tracing are the more realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections, allowing games to look more life-like. The downside of RTX is that the performance on your PC will take a big hit while simulating the feature, so it's only worth playing if you have a high-spec PC.
With that in mind, here are the Portal RTX requirements, courtesy of Valve:
Minimum system requirements:
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 / Windows 11
- Processor: Intel i7-6700, AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
- Storage: 25 GB available space
Recommended system requirements:
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 / Windows 11
- Processor: Intel i7-6700, AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
- Storage: 25 GB SSD available space
Ultra system requirements:
- OS: 64-bit Windows 10 / Windows 11
- Processor: Intel i7-12700K, AMD Ryzen 9 5900
- Memory: 32 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080
- Storage: 25 GB SSD available space
That's all for our explainer of Portal RTX, and now you know whether you'll need to upgrade your PC to play it.