Why do PC gamers have to wait for new games?

PC gamers often find themselves at the back of the queue when new games arrive on consoles first. It’s frustrating to feel deprived of a game you’ve been dying to buy and play, and to have to wait another two years for it to be released on PC. So why does this keep happening?

Exclusive offers

Platform exclusive games have traditionally been one of the main reasons to get one console over another. For example, Nintendo has Mario and Legend of Zelda Perks, Xbox has myth, auraand Forza Racing games, PlayStation has Gran Turismo, Bloodborneand God of war games. These games have a strong and loyal fan base and are often considered some of the best in the industry.

These platform exclusives are crucial in increasing console sales. I know many people who bought certain consoles just to play these exclusive games. This is why console manufacturers sign exclusive deals with publishers to ensure that their games are released on their consoles only, either forever or for a certain period, while the hype surrounding the game is high.

For example, God of war It was released in 2018 on PlayStation 4, with a PC release in 2022. This strategy will likely help boost PlayStation 5 sales when the sequel comes in 2022, God of War Ragnarokthough it will eventually be released on PC in 2024.

Interestingly, the PC version led to 39% increase in Ragnaroknumber of players, suggesting that the opposite effect could also occur. While Sony has maintained its approach to exclusive games, Microsoft has changed its strategy regarding exclusive games and is now supporting Windows PCs on day one of Xbox exclusives.

Transferring games to PC is complicated

Exclusive deals are only part of the equation. Some publishers simply choose not to publish games on PC, either completely or for a certain period, because it is often cheaper and easier to create and optimize games specifically for consoles. Consoles are a unified platform. All PlayStation 5 consoles in the world use essentially the same hardware, while gaming PCs can have a wide range of different parts.

While modern consoles use hardware created by AMD that is more PC-like than ever before, console games still require significant code modifications before they can be ported to PC. This follows months of testing across a wide range of different combinations of CPU, GPU, RAM, motherboard, and storage.

The game should also be modified to play better with a keyboard and mouse, support custom keybindings, offer a wider range of graphical options, support the ultra-wide screen, and more. In some cases, publishers add Denuvo before porting to protect the game from piracy, which further complicates the development process.

Extensive testing attempts to ensure that games run flawlessly once they’re released, but even then, it usually takes several additional patches after launch before the game reaches its optimal form.

If this step is skipped and the game is run on both console and PC simultaneously, we usually see more egregious performance issues on the PC side. Unfortunately, this happens often. In just the last couple of years, we’ve seen this happen with Dragon’s Doctrine II, Hogwarts Legacy, abandonedand Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

The markets are completely different

It’s no secret that the PC and console gaming markets are very different. Consoles have a much larger population of casual gamers who prefer big, triple-A-rated games with stunning graphics, exceptional storytelling, and smooth gameplay.

These players often don’t mind paying full price for the game upon release or waiting for a small discount. Backward compatibility on consoles is improving, but there are still generational leaps. This means that you can only play PS5 games on the PS5 console. You may also need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play older games.

While PC gamers also love their triple-A games, and sales continue to grow, it’s still an issue Smaller market. This is because PC gamers have an endless variety of games to choose from.

If a new Triple-A game is currently too expensive, you could just play some older, free-to-play or indie games instead. You know that the excellent game everyone is playing now will eventually go on sale, so you don’t mind waiting a while.

Your entire Steam library stays with you, and you can be fairly confident that your old games will work on any new PC you eventually upgrade to. Plus, you can modify old games to get more hours of fun out of them.

Furthermore, many computer gamers prefer online gaming, which is usually free and generates revenue through microtransactions rather than game sales. This market segment is dominated by a few competitive eSports games such as league of legends, Counter Strike, braveand fortnite.

Some dedicated players spend hundreds or even thousands of hours in these games, leaving little time (and money) for triple-A games.

Although some of these competitive games are available on consoles as well, PC is still the superior platform due to native mouse and keyboard support and high refresh rates beyond what consoles support, among other reasons.

Sometimes the wait is worth it

If having to wait longer for the PC version is what it takes to ensure the game is perfect – or at least in a playable state – then it might be worth the wait. As a PC gamer, I don’t mind waiting an extra year if it means the game will be polished, run well on my PC, and won’t suffer from game-breaking bugs.

This has long been the case with Rockstar titles, such as Red dead redemption (which took 14 years) and its sequel, let alone that GTA V And its many introductions. Sony exclusives such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, God of war and Ragnarok, Ghost of Tsushima, unknownand Marvel’s Spider-Man It was also noticeably delayed. Successful game releases build trust between publishers and players, which is great for everyone.

Although pre-ordering games is generally not a good idea, if you want to do so, simply pre-order PC ports from publishers with a proven track record. I can say with reasonable confidence that GTA VI It will be great on PC, although it will likely take an extra year after the console version launches.