Cinder City, the upcoming open-world shooter set in a ruined version of near-future Seoul, is giving PC players an early chance to try the game before its full release. A pre-alpha playtest is scheduled for August 14 through August 16, and registrations are now open.

The game first attracted attention earlier this year for a surprising PC requirement. Its Steam page originally listed 64GB of RAM as a recommended requirement, which immediately raised eyebrows among PC players. The developer later confirmed that the figure was a mistake, but the corrected requirements still call for at least 32GB of RAM.

That is considerably more than what many PC gamers currently have in their systems. According to the latest Steam Hardware and Software Survey, 32GB is far from the standard configuration for the majority of Steam users. Because of that, some players have questioned whether Cinder City is simply going to be an unusually demanding game or whether its PC optimization still has a lot of work to do.

The system requirements may not tell the whole story, however. The upcoming playtest could provide a much more useful way for players to find out how the game actually performs.

The pre-alpha test will give selected participants the opportunity to play an early version of Cinder City on their own computers. While it obviously won't represent the final product, it should give players a better idea of how demanding the game is and whether their current hardware can handle it.

There are some important restrictions for anyone interested in signing up. The playtest is only available to players located in the United States, and participants must be at least 16 years old. More importantly, everyone taking part will have to follow a strict non-disclosure agreement.

Players won't be allowed to record gameplay, take screenshots, stream their sessions, publish posts about the test, or upload any other content related to what they experience. In other words, anyone accepted into the playtest will have to keep what they see to themselves.

For players who meet those requirements, though, the test could be a useful opportunity. Cinder City is still in its pre-alpha stage, meaning there is plenty of time for the developers to improve performance before launch. Publisher NC has already acknowledged that the current system requirements may change as development continues.

When the incorrect 64GB RAM requirement was removed, NC explained that optimization work was still underway and that the final PC requirements could end up being lower than the numbers currently listed.

That means players shouldn't necessarily assume that 32GB of RAM will definitely be required when Cinder City launches. The developers could potentially reduce the game's memory demands as they continue optimizing the title.

Still, the playtest could provide an interesting early indication of where things stand. If Cinder City performs well on a player's computer during the pre-alpha, there is a reasonable chance that the final version will run even better after months of additional optimization.

On the other hand, poor performance during the test wouldn't necessarily mean the finished game will have the same problems. Pre-alpha builds are unfinished by nature, and many technical issues can be fixed during development.

Beyond performance, the test will also give players an early look at what Cinder City is trying to accomplish. The game is being developed as a cinematic third-person shooter with an open-world setting inspired by a fallen near-future Seoul.

For now, PC players who are curious about the project can sign up and potentially get an early look. Just don't expect to share what you see afterward—the NDA means the first public impressions will have to wait.