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Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does support Full Ray Tracing—also commonly called path tracing—but the feature is not new. Bethesda added it for supported NVIDIA graphics cards with at least 12GB of VRAM in Update 1 on December 8, 2024. Update 3, released February 20, 2025, expanded support to hardware-ray-tracing-capable AMD and Intel GPUs with a 16GB VRAM minimum.
That means “12GB VRAM PCs” is an unsafe shorthand. VRAM belongs to the graphics card, and 12GB alone does not guarantee compatibility, smooth performance, or good 4K results.
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The current compatibility rules
| GPU vendor | Bethesda’s stated requirement | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | Supported NVIDIA graphics card with at least 12GB VRAM | Not every 12GB NVIDIA card is automatically supported or fast enough for a good experience. |
| AMD | Hardware ray tracing and at least 16GB VRAM | Support was added in Update 3; install current manufacturer drivers. |
| Intel | Hardware ray tracing and at least 16GB VRAM | Support was added in Update 3; install current manufacturer drivers. |
The official requirements identify supported cards rather than promising that every GPU with a particular memory capacity will work. Eligibility and playability are different questions: a card may pass the game’s support check while still needing upscaling, a lower resolution, or reduced settings.
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Sources: Bethesda Update 1 and Bethesda Update 3.
What Full Ray Tracing changes
Bethesda calls the setting Full Ray Tracing; “path tracing” is the technical term commonly used for tracing a broader chain of light interactions through a scene. In this game, the feature goes beyond enabling one isolated ray-traced effect. NVIDIA describes it as fully ray-traced global illumination and sun shadows, with ray-traced reflections and other lighting effects contributing to the image.
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Update 3 added an option for ray-traced shadows from all light sources, rather than limiting that treatment to the sun. This can improve interior lighting and shadow detail, but it also adds to the rendering workload.
Full Ray Tracing is therefore best understood as a more complete, substantially more demanding lighting mode—not simply a synonym for every ray-tracing feature in the game or a switch between “no ray tracing” and “ray tracing.”
Read NVIDIA’s technical overview at GeForce News.
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- December 8, 2024: Update 1 introduced Full Ray Tracing for supported NVIDIA GPUs with at least 12GB of VRAM.
- February 20, 2025: Update 3 added path tracing for qualifying AMD and Intel GPUs with a 16GB minimum, plus all-light-source ray-traced shadows and additional upscaling and frame-generation options.
So the feature should not be described as a new August 2026 release. Older articles calling it NVIDIA-only may have been accurate when Update 1 launched, but they are incomplete for the current game.
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Performance: 12GB is a floor, not a target
Path tracing is much more demanding than conventional rasterized rendering or limited ray tracing. Resolution, texture and geometry settings, scene complexity, driver behavior, and the GPU’s ray-tracing hardware all affect the result. A 12GB minimum does not mean that any 12GB card can deliver maximum settings at 4K.
Upscaling may be necessary. The game supports NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution, DLSS Frame Generation, DLSS Ray Reconstruction and, after Update 3, DLSS 4 features including Multi Frame Generation on supported RTX 50-series hardware. AMD users can use FSR 3.1, including frame generation, while Intel users have XeSS 1.4 available.
Upscaling reduces the internal rendering resolution and can improve performance, but image quality varies by mode and scene. Frame generation can raise the displayed frame rate; it does not remove the underlying rendering workload or make generated frames equivalent to natively rendered frames. It can also affect latency and frame pacing, so judge the result by how the game feels, not by the displayed number alone.
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Source: NVIDIA Developer: Path-tracing optimizations.
How to enable it
- Update the game through Steam, the Microsoft Store, the Xbox app, or your PC Game Pass installation.
- Install the latest driver from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel.
- Confirm that the GPU has hardware ray-tracing support and meets the applicable VRAM threshold.
- Open the game’s graphics settings and look for Full Ray Tracing or Path Tracing. Exact labels and menu placement can vary with the current PC build.
- Choose an appropriate DLSS, FSR, or XeSS mode before targeting a higher output resolution.
- Test a demanding area, especially foliage-heavy sections of Sukhothai.
- If you see occasional shadow popping in vegetation, lower Vegetation Animation Quality below Ultra, following Bethesda’s guidance.
What to do when it looks or runs badly
The option is missing
Make sure the game is fully updated, the graphics driver is current, and the GPU meets the relevant hardware-ray-tracing and VRAM requirements. A 12GB AMD or Intel card does not qualify under the NVIDIA 12GB rule; Update 3 specifies 16GB for those vendors.
A qualifying 12GB NVIDIA card performs poorly
The 12GB figure is a feature threshold, not a frame-rate guarantee. Lower the output resolution, select a less demanding upscaling mode, reduce other graphics settings, disable ray-traced shadows from all light sources, or turn Path Tracing off. High refresh-rate and native-4K targets are especially demanding.
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Shadows pop in foliage
Lower Vegetation Animation Quality below Ultra. Bethesda specifically recommends this for occasional path-tracing shadow popping in foliage-heavy areas such as Sukhothai.
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Other ray-tracing problems appear
Update 3 included fixes and improvements for environment lighting, light leaks in underground Gizeh locations, DLSS Frame Generation with HDR, and DLSS rendering at 3440×1440 in widescreen picture framing. Running an older build can therefore produce issues already addressed by the patch.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Should you enable Path Tracing?
Enable it if your supported GPU meets the requirement, you value more complete lighting and reflections, and you are willing to use upscaling or accept a lower frame rate. It is particularly worthwhile for players who prefer image quality over high-refresh-rate performance.
Leave it disabled if your card is below the relevant VRAM threshold, lacks hardware ray tracing, the mode causes poor frame pacing or latency, or you prefer high native resolution and maximum frame rate. Do not buy a GPU solely because it has 12GB of VRAM: compare its ray-tracing performance, target resolution, power requirements, and current value as well.
Could cloud gaming be the alternative?
Players without a sufficiently powerful local GeForce RTX system can consider GeForce NOW where the service, connection quality, and game ownership are supported. NVIDIA lists Steam and Microsoft Store support, with PC Game Pass availability handled separately. Cloud streaming avoids a local GPU upgrade, but introduces its own variables, including latency, compression, subscription limits, storefront support, and regional availability.
See NVIDIA GeForce NOW for current service information. Do not assume cloud streaming will feel identical to rendering locally.
The bottom line for GPU owners
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle does support path tracing, but the accurate rule is not “any 12GB VRAM PC.” Supported NVIDIA cards need at least 12GB, while supported AMD and Intel hardware added in Update 3 needs hardware ray tracing and at least 16GB. In every case, VRAM is only the starting point: resolution, GPU architecture, drivers, upscaling, frame generation, and scene-specific artifacts determine whether the feature is genuinely enjoyable.
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