We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.

Nvidia bans RTX 4060 benchmarks except Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p

Nvidia gets ahead of the game by letting YouTubers cover the RTX 4060 pre-embargo, but it’s restricted them to talking about Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 appears against a black background with yellow flashes.

The embargo on RTX 4060 coverage isn’t lifted until tomorrow, June 27, but Nvidia is letting certain YouTubers publish benchmarking content about the GeForce GPU. These selected channels, including ‘JayzTwoCents’ and Daniel Owen, can’t just cover whatever they like, though. They’ve only been given the (team) green light to benchmark now-iconic RPG game Cyberpunk 2077 at specific settings in 1080p, in a curious move by Nvidia.

Even if they have to jump through some hoops, what content creator isn’t going to at the chance to cover the upcoming pixel pusher on their channel ahead of embargo? 60 cards are always Nvidia’s most popular releases, after all. It’s lucky that ‘JayzTwoCents’ and ‘Daniel Owen’ were both forthcoming on the restrictions Nvidia placed on their videos, otherwise we’d have no idea.

YouTube Thumbnail

Blocking benchmarking at 1440p certainly cements the narrative that this GPU aims to be a 1080p powerhouse. It’s also steering creators to focus on DLSS 3, a feature that, while excellent, would often be ignored in standard benchmarking as it’s a circumstantial tool that increases latency.

YouTube Thumbnail

We’re not sure why Nvidia has chosen Cyberpunk 2077 exactly. It’s renowned as one of the most graphically intensive games out there, so perhaps the RTX 4060 sees a big boost versus the RTX 3060, which often struggled with maintaining a solid frame rate with ray tracing on. Regardless, Nvidia has obviously done their own testing with CD Projekt Red’s sci fi RPG, and is confident it’ll show off the Lovelace GPU’s capabilities well.

Whether you think this is a cynical move by team green or an understandable attempt to convey the upcoming GPU’s benefits to consumers clearly, there’s no denying it’s trying something new. With the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 release date arriving in just two days time on June 29, you won’t have to wait long to see if it makes an appearance in our best graphics card list. Let’s hope it can improve over the reception its sibling got in our Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB review. Finally, check if your PC can run the Cyberpunk 2077 system requirements over at PCGameBenchmark.