What Is TPM 2.0? Why Windows 11 and Games Need It

TPM 2.0 became famous overnight in 2021, when Windows 11 made it a requirement and thousands of perfectly good PCs failed the upgrade check. It has since become a requirement for a growing list of competitive games too.

What a TPM is

A Trusted Platform Module is a small, isolated security processor. It can be a separate chip on the motherboard, but on most modern PCs it is built into the main processor as a firmware TPM: Intel calls theirs PTT, AMD calls theirs fTPM.

Whatever form it takes, it does three jobs:

• Stores keys. Encryption keys for BitLocker, Windows Hello and other features live inside it, where software cannot copy them out.
• Measures the boot. As the PC starts, each stage of the start-up process is recorded in the TPM, building a tamper-proof log of exactly what loaded.
• Proves it. The TPM can sign that log, so a remote service can check how the PC started and trust the answer.

TPM 2.0 is the current version of the standard and the one Windows 11 and games ask for.

Why games and anti-cheats need TPM 2.0

Proof of a clean start

Secure Boot stops unsigned software loading during start-up. The TPM is how an anti-cheat checks that claim. It reads the boot measurements, confirms that Secure Boot was on and nothing unexpected loaded, and only then trusts the system. FACEIT describes this pairing directly: Secure Boot enforces the chain of trust, and the TPM provides a signed, tamper-proof report of it.

A hardware identity

Every TPM carries a unique key created at the factory. That gives a game a way to recognise a PC that is extremely hard to fake, which is why TPM requirements and hardware bans are often discussed together.

How to check your TPM

1. Press Windows and R, type tpm.msc and press Enter.
2. Look at Status and, under TPM Manufacturer Information, the Specification Version.

You can also open Windows Security, go to Device security and look for Security processor. If it is listed, the TPM is on.

If Windows reports that no compatible TPM was found, the TPM is almost always present but switched off.

How to enable TPM 2.0

Restart, open the firmware settings with Delete or F2, and look for:

• Intel PTT (Platform Trust Technology) on Intel systems
• AMD fTPM on AMD systems
• or a generic Security Device Support or TPM option

Enable it, save and restart, then run tpm.msc again to confirm.

Things to watch out for

• BitLocker. Changing TPM settings on an encrypted drive can make Windows ask for the BitLocker recovery key. Keep it to hand before you change anything.
• Clearing the TPM. Windows offers a Clear TPM option. Do not use it unless you know why: it erases the keys stored inside, including ones encrypted data depends on.
• AMD stutters. If you see brief, regular stutters on an AMD Ryzen system with fTPM on, update the motherboard BIOS. AMD fixed that issue in a firmware update in 2022.

TPM and your games

TPM 2.0 is now a normal part of a gaming PC, because kernel-level anti-cheats increasingly lean on it. If a game or platform asks for it, as Riot Vanguard does on Windows 11, switching it on costs nothing in performance. For the games we cover, the requirement comes from the game itself, and the per-game Wiki hubs list anything a game adds.