DirectX
DirectX 12 · dxdiag
DirectX is Microsoft's set of programming interfaces that Windows games use to work with the graphics card and other hardware; games list the version they need in their system requirements.
Games do not usually talk to the graphics card directly. They go through a layer supplied by the operating system, and on Windows that layer is DirectX. A game built for a given DirectX version expects both Windows and the graphics card to support it.
On current Windows there is little to install. Microsoft says that if you have Windows 10 or 11, you already have the latest version of DirectX, and that not every older version of Windows can run the latest DirectX. To check what you have, type dxdiag in the search box, open the DirectX Diagnostic Tool and read the DirectX version on the System tab.
In practice, the “DirectX: Version 12” line in a game’s requirements is a question about your graphics card: whether it supports that version, which its maker’s specifications state. The graphics card itself, and its video memory, are listed on the Performance tab of Task Manager.
Our guide to reading PC system requirements puts the DirectX line in context with the rest of the list.
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