Reference · Platforms

Desktop clients and system basics

The same game can reach a desktop computer by three different routes, and the route decides how it performs, how it is supported, and how cleanly it comes off again. This page separates the three and explains the vocabulary in a requirements table.

General guidance about desktop platforms. Specific requirements, client availability and support terms are set by each vendor and should be read on that vendor's own site. Last reviewed: 22 September 2026.

Three ways a title reaches a desktop

Two points deserve emphasis. First, where a vendor publishes a native desktop client, that client is the route the vendor supports, and using it avoids a whole category of problems that begin with "which emulator are you running". Second, emulators are ordinary software from third parties, so the usual caution applies: obtain one from its developer's own site rather than from a download aggregator, and read what it installs alongside itself.

Reading a requirements table

Every desktop title publishes minimum and recommended requirements, and the vocabulary is consistent enough to learn once. Minimum means the configuration the vendor expects to run the game at all. Recommended means the configuration the vendor expects to run it comfortably. Neither is a promise, and both describe the game at the time they were written.

Operating system

The named system and version. A build listed for Windows will not run on macOS without a compatibility layer, and a Linux listing may name specific distributions.

Processor (CPU)

The general-purpose chip. Turn-based games in this genre lean on it less heavily than action titles do, but interface responsiveness and load times track it.

Memory (RAM)

Working memory, in gigabytes. Running an emulator raises this figure meaningfully, because the virtual device needs its own allocation on top of the host system.

Graphics (GPU)

The graphics processor. This usually determines the frame rate and the visual settings available. Integrated graphics built into a processor will generally run this genre, at lower settings.

Storage

Disk space for the installed game. The figure published is often the install size rather than the size after updates, and the gap grows over a title's life.

Network

These games are online, so a connection is required in play, not only at download. Latency matters less than in real-time games, but a dropped connection mid-battle can still cost the attempt.

Download size and connections in Australia

Desktop builds of this genre are substantial downloads, and they grow as content is added. Two practical considerations follow for readers in Australia. If your connection is metered — mobile broadband, a satellite service, or a plan with a data allowance — check the download size before starting, and remember that updates recur. If your connection is slow at particular hours, a large first download is better scheduled than attempted on impulse.

It is also worth checking whether the game downloads its full content at install or streams additional assets during first play, because the figure shown at install can understate the total. The vendor's support documentation is the place that answers this; a store listing usually does not.

Installing and removing cleanly

Installing a desktop game is an ordinary software installation and deserves ordinary care. Download from the vendor's own site or an established storefront rather than from a mirror. Read what the installer offers to add alongside the game. Note the install location, because that is where the files will remain if something goes wrong later.

• Use the operating system's own removal tool — Add or Remove Programs on Windows, dragging the application to the Bin on macOS, or the package manager on Linux.
• Check whether the game leaves a separate data or cache folder behind, which is common and usually harmless but can be large.
• If you installed an emulator, remove the emulator separately; removing the game inside it does not remove the emulator.
• Removing a local installation does not close an online account. If you want the account itself deleted, that is a request to the vendor, and the account security page covers why the two are separate.

Accounts across devices

Whether an account started on a desktop can later be used on a phone, and whether progress carries in both directions, is decided by the vendor and varies by title. Some titles use a single account across every platform. Some keep platform-specific accounts that cannot be merged. Some allow a transfer once, in one direction only.

This matters more than it first appears, because the decision is effectively permanent and is made at registration, before you know enough to make it well. The reliable answer is in the vendor's own support documentation under a heading such as account linking or cross-progression. Where you cannot find an answer, treat the account as tied to the platform you started on until the vendor says otherwise.

When something goes wrong

Most desktop problems in this genre fall into a small number of categories, and the order in which you check them saves time.

1. The game will not start. Confirm the build matches the operating system, then check available disk space and whether an update is partially downloaded.
2. Performance is poor. Lower the graphics settings first, then check whether an emulator is running with too little or too much memory allocated to it. Both extremes cause problems.
3. The connection drops in battle. Test whether the drop is specific to the game or general to the machine before contacting support, because the answer determines who can help.
4. An update fails repeatedly. Check the vendor's status or news channel before reinstalling. A reinstall on a metered connection is an expensive way to discover the problem was at the other end.
5. Nothing above applies. Contact the vendor's support with the operating system version, the client version, whether an emulator is involved, and what you have already tried. Support desks for this genre are generally responsive when given those four facts.

Common questions

Related reading

The evaluation checklist includes platform availability among the things to settle before installing. Account security covers binding an account so that a device change does not cost you the account. The entry on Raid: Shadow Legends notes what its published description states about desktop distribution.