Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is Respawn Entertainment's sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order, released April 28, 2023 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Previous-generation consoles were dropped entirely — this is a current-gen only title built on a heavily modified Unreal Engine 4. Cal Kestis returns five years after the first game as a more seasoned Jedi, exploring planets from Koboh to Coruscant in a 25–35 hour campaign.
The PC launch was notoriously rough: severe shader stutters, crashes, and frame rate instability plagued day-one builds. Respawn and EA issued multiple patches through May–June 2023 that significantly improved performance. Upscaling support (DLSS, FSR, XeSS) was added in June 2023. As of 2026, the game runs substantially better than at launch, but knowing the right settings still matters — especially on AMD hardware and mid-range configurations.
System Requirements
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available via Steam and EA Desktop. SSD is strongly recommended — loading times on HDD are painful, particularly for the larger zones.
| Tier | CPU | RAM | GPU | VRAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum (1080p/30) | Core i7-7700K / Ryzen 5 1600 | 8 GB | GTX 1070 8GB / RX 580 8GB | 8 GB | 155 GB SSD |
| Medium (1080p/60) | Core i7-10700K / Ryzen 7 3700X | 16 GB | RTX 2080 / RX 6700 XT | 8 GB | 155 GB SSD |
| Recommended (1440p/60) | Core i7-11800H / Ryzen 7 5800X | 16 GB | RTX 2070 Super / RX 6800 XT | 16 GB | 155 GB NVMe SSD |
| Ultra (4K/60) | Core i9-13900K / Ryzen 9 7950X | 32 GB | RTX 4080 / RX 7900 XTX | 24 GB | 155 GB NVMe SSD |
Key notes:
- 8 GB RAM is the listed minimum but 16 GB is strongly recommended — the game regularly exceeds 10 GB RAM usage in larger areas.
- AMD cards historically ran Survivor worse than NVIDIA at launch; post-patch this gap has narrowed significantly.
- Install size is approximately 155 GB — significantly larger than Fallen Order.
How to Download Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PC
Via Steam:
- Open Steam → search "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor" → purchase or access via EA Play Pro.
- Install to SSD — required for reasonable load times.
- On first launch, run Shader Pre-compilation from the main menu before starting a new game. This is the most important step for PC performance.
Via EA Desktop (EA Play / EA Play Pro):
- Install EA Desktop from ea.com.
- Search Jedi: Survivor → install (EA Play Pro includes it; standard EA Play subscribers may need to purchase).
- Identical experience post-installation; same game files regardless of storefront.
Launch options (Steam): No special launch parameters are needed with modern drivers. DX12 is the default and recommended API. Switch to DX11 in Settings → Graphics if you experience DX12-specific crashes.
Top Performance Settings to Change First
Jedi: Survivor's performance profile varies significantly by zone. Koboh's open areas are GPU-bound; Coruscant's dense urban sections are CPU-bound. Here's the priority order:
Setting #1: Run Shader Pre-compilation (before anything else)
Menu path: Main menu → Settings → Graphics → Shader Pre-compilation → Run
This is not a settings slider — it's an action. Shader pre-compilation takes 10–20 minutes on first run and eliminates the on-the-fly shader stutter that made early-access reviews painful to watch. The game will still compile some shaders in new areas, but pre-compilation handles the majority. Do this before starting the campaign.
Progress is displayed as a percentage bar. Close other programs during compilation to give the GPU full resources.
Setting #2: Shadow Quality (biggest GPU lever)
Menu path: Settings → Graphics → Shadow Quality
Shadow Quality is the highest-impact individual setting for GPU frame rate in Jedi: Survivor. Moving from Ultra to High typically recovers 12–18% GPU headroom across all zones.
| Setting | GPU Load | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Ultra | Maximum | RTX 4080+, RX 7900 XT+ only at 4K |
| High | High | Best quality-performance balance for RTX 3080 / RX 6800 XT |
| Medium | Moderate | RTX 3060 / RX 6600 XT at 1080p |
| Low | Low | Minimum-spec cards only; noticeable visual degradation |
Setting #3: View Distance (CPU + GPU lever for dense zones)
Menu path: Settings → Graphics → View Distance
View Distance controls how far environmental geometry and NPCs are rendered at full quality before LOD kicks in. On Coruscant and Jedha — the game's two most CPU-intensive locations — reducing View Distance from Ultra to High provides noticeable CPU frame time reduction.
View Distance has limited impact in smaller indoor environments (Mantis hangar, tunnels); the savings concentrate in open and urban zones.
All Graphics Settings Explained
| Setting | Impact | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution Scale | High | Use upscaling instead; keep at 100% with FSR/DLSS |
| Upscaling (DLSS/FSR/XeSS) | High | DLSS Quality (NVIDIA) / FSR Quality (AMD/others) |
| Shadow Quality | High | High for most; Ultra only on high-end at 4K |
| View Distance | High (CPU zones) | High in general; Ultra if GPU/CPU has headroom |
| Texture Quality | Medium-High | High for 8 GB VRAM; Ultra for 12 GB+ |
| Screen Space Reflections | Medium | Medium; Ultra is GPU-intensive, rarely noticeable |
| Ambient Occlusion | Medium | High is fine; Ultra adds marginal quality |
| Volumetric Fog | Low-Medium | Medium; Low for minimum spec |
| Motion Blur | Cosmetic | Off — does not affect performance, reduces visual noise |
| Depth of Field | Cosmetic | Personal preference; off for sharper image |
| Object Detail Fade | Medium | High; reduce only if GPU is still struggling |
| Visual Effects Quality | Medium | High; Ultra is mostly particle/explosion quality |
| Anti-Aliasing | Medium | Use upscaler AA instead; TAA if upscaling disabled |
Upscaling: DLSS, FSR, and XeSS
Upscaling was not available at launch — it was patched in June 2023 alongside significant stability fixes.
| Technology | Required Hardware | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DLSS 2 | NVIDIA RTX series | Best image quality for NVIDIA cards; use Quality mode |
| FSR 2.1 | Any GPU | Good quality; works on AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel |
| XeSS | Intel Arc (best), any GPU | Similar to FSR; Intel Arc gets extra quality uplift |
Frame Generation: No official Frame Gen support. Community mods exist but are unofficial.
AMD RSR: Before in-game upscaling was patched, AMD users relied on Radeon Super Resolution at the driver level. This is now redundant — use FSR 2.1 in-game instead for better quality.
Recommended upscaling mode: Quality (67% native resolution). Balanced if GPU is still struggling after shadow/view distance adjustments. Performance mode is too aggressive at 1080p (effective 720p internal).
Jedi: Survivor PC Optimization Tips
Pre-compile shaders before every major update. After patches, Respawn often invalidates the shader cache. Re-run Shader Pre-compilation from the main menu after each significant game update.
Switch to DX12 (default) unless crashing. DX12 provides better CPU thread utilization than DX11. Only switch to DX11 if DX12 triggers consistent crashes — DX11 stability is generally worse on older AMD GPUs.
Disable overlays during compilation. Discord, GeForce Experience, and Xbox Game Bar overlays can interrupt shader compilation and cause it to loop. Disable them before running pre-compilation, then re-enable.
16 GB RAM is the real minimum. In open zones on Koboh or Coruscant, RAM usage frequently hits 11–12 GB. Systems with 8 GB will experience RAM compression that manifests as random stutter spikes.
AMD driver version matters. Earlier AMD Adrenalin drivers (pre-23.5.1) had a Jedi: Survivor-specific optimization. Keep AMD drivers current via AMD Adrenalin's update check.
Coruscant and Jedha performance: These are the game's most demanding areas. Both feature dense crowd AI and complex geometry. If your frame rate is fine everywhere else but drops here: reduce View Distance to High and Crowd Density to Medium for these zones specifically.
Common Errors and Fixes
| Error | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Severe stutter throughout gameplay | Shader cache not compiled | Run Shader Pre-compilation from main menu before playing |
| Game crash on launch | EA Desktop overlay or GPU driver conflict | Update GPU driver; disable EA Desktop in-game overlay temporarily |
| 30fps cap in cutscenes | Engine-level cinematics cap (UE4 limitation) | No official fix; community mods can unlock cutscene FPS |
| "Out of video memory" error | VRAM exceeded by texture/reflection settings | Reduce Texture Quality to High; disable or lower SSR |
| DX12 crash / black screen on startup | DX12 init failure on older hardware | Switch to DX11 in Settings → Graphics → API |
| Controller not detected | Input API conflict with DS4Windows or Steam Input | Use Steam Input exclusively; disable DS4Windows |
| Game not launching from EA Desktop | EA Desktop client out of date | Update EA Desktop; verify game files via EA Desktop → Library |
| Low FPS despite good GPU (Coruscant) | CPU bottleneck from NPC simulation | Reduce View Distance and Crowd Density for urban zones |
Cal's Abilities and Combat Overview
Jedi: Survivor expands significantly on Fallen Order's combat. Cal gains five combat stances over the course of the campaign:
| Stance | Style | Strengths |
|---|---|---|
| Single | Balanced, versatile | Best all-rounder for new players |
| Double-Bladed | Wide sweeps, AoE | Great against groups of weak enemies |
| Crossguard | Slow, massive damage | Strong against armored / boss enemies |
| Dual Wield | Fast, combo-heavy | High DPS on exposed targets |
| Blaster | Mid-range hybrid | Good for ranged encounters |
You can equip two stances simultaneously and switch between them mid-combat. The Crossguard stance was widely considered the strongest for boss fights — a single parry-counter on a boss deals significant posture/health damage.
Skill tree priorities: Early game, invest in Survival Skills (Force Energy, health) and your primary stance's core combo chain. Cal's Force Pull + Throw and Confusion (mind trick) abilities unlock meaningful combat options early.
BD-1 and Mount systems: BD-1 gains traversal upgrades tied to story progression. Mounts (Nekko, Spamel, and others) unlock on Koboh and make open-world traversal significantly faster — find the stables early.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on Steam? Yes. Available on Steam and EA Desktop. Purchasing on Steam gives you the EA Desktop client integration anyway for EA Play benefits.
Does Jedi: Survivor support DLSS and FSR? Yes — DLSS 2, FSR 2.1, and XeSS were patched in with the June 2023 update. They were not available at launch.
How does performance compare to Fallen Order? Fallen Order was well-optimized; Survivor launched poorly but caught up significantly. Post-patches, Survivor performs better than Fallen Order at equivalent settings on most hardware.
Is SSD required? Not listed as mandatory, but HDD loading times on Koboh and Coruscant are 60–90 seconds. SSD drops this to 10–20 seconds. Treat SSD as required for a reasonable experience.
DX12 or DX11 — which should I use? DX12 by default — it's faster on modern hardware. Switch to DX11 only if DX12 causes crashes.
What frame rate at 1080p/medium on an RTX 3060? Approximately 55–65 fps after shader pre-compilation. Coruscant will drop to ~45–50 fps; open Koboh areas will hit 70+.
Does it support 21:9 ultrawide? Yes. Native ultrawide support included; no black bars.
Is there any locked 30fps content? Some cinematics are rendered at 30fps regardless of hardware — this is a UE4 engine limitation in certain in-engine cutscene sequences. It is not reflective of your hardware performance.
Conclusion
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has recovered from its troubled launch into a genuinely great PC game. The two critical first steps: run Shader Pre-compilation from the main menu before playing, and drop Shadow Quality from Ultra to High to reclaim GPU headroom. Add DLSS or FSR on top of that and mid-range hardware runs it comfortably at 1080p/60. The campaign is excellent — Koboh in particular is one of the better open-world planets in recent Star Wars media. Give it room past the first two hours before judging its pacing.