How We Test: Inside GameReadyCheck's ReadyScore Methodology
No black box. Here's the exact formula, the evidence rules, and the reasoning behind every ReadyScore verdict on this site.
Three tiers of evidence, never blended together
Every fact on GameReadyCheck is labeled one of three ways, and we never let a label quietly slip into a stronger one. A confirmed release date sitting next to an estimated GPU requirement stays two separate things on the page, we don't imply the second from the first.
The actual ReadyScore™ formula
Once a game has Minimum and Recommended thresholds, whether Confirmed (like WARDOGS) or Estimated (like GTA 6), the same formula produces your score. GPU counts for 45% of the weighted total, CPU for 30%, and RAM for 25%, reflecting how much each component actually limits whether a modern game runs acceptably. An outdated HDD or insufficient VRAM apply flat penalties on top, since those are pass/fail issues, not a spectrum.
| Component | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GPU | 45% | The most common bottleneck in modern games. |
| CPU | 30% | Matters most for simulation-heavy or high-player-count titles. |
| RAM | 25% | A hard capacity floor more than a performance spectrum. |
| VRAM shortfall | −10 flat | Causes stutter and texture pop-in regardless of GPU tier. |
| HDD instead of SSD | −15 flat | Causes load-time and streaming issues independent of everything else. |
Below a component's Minimum threshold, its score scales 0-60. Between Minimum and Recommended, it scales 60-100. At or above Recommended, it caps at 100. A single component can't single-handedly guarantee a "Ready" verdict, all three still get weighted together.
How predictions are built, when official specs don't exist yet
For games like GTA 6, Fable and Metro 2039, no official PC spec sheet exists at the time of writing. Our Estimated predictions come from the same handful of concrete inputs every time: console hardware equivalence (what the PS5/Xbox Series X can actually run), the developer's own PC port history, comparable already-released titles, and the game's install-size trend. No guesswork disguised as fact, and no fake leaks, every Estimated page states which of these inputs applies.
See the full breakdown, including worked examples, on our GameReady Methodology page.