Summary
PC gamers often find themselves at the back of the queue as new games arrive on consoles first. It’s frustrating to feel locked out of a game you’re eager to purchase and play, having to wait another two years for the PC release. So why does this keep happening?
Exclusive Deals
Games that are exclusive to a platform have traditionally been one of the main reasons to get one console over the other. For example, Nintendo has theMarioandThe Legend of Zeldafranchises, Xbox hasFable,Halo, and theForzaracing games, and PlayStation hasGran Turismo,Bloodborne, andGod of Wargames. These games have strong, loyal fanbases and are often regarded as some of the best games in the industry.
These platform exclusives are crucial in driving console sales. I know several people who purchased certain consoles just to play these exclusives. That’s why console manufacturers sign exclusive deals with publishers to ensure their games are only released on their console, either forever or for a certain period, while the hype surrounding the game is high.
For example,God of Warwas released in 2018 on PlayStation 4, with a PC release following in 2022. This strategy potentially helped boost PlayStation 5 sales when the 2022 sequel,God of War Ragnarok, launched, although it was eventually released on PC in 2024.
Interestingly, the PC release led to a39%increase inRagnarok’s player count, suggesting that the opposite effect can also occur. While Sony has maintained its approach to exclusive games, Microsoft shifted its strategy regarding exclusive games and now supports Windows PC on day one for Xbox exclusives.
Porting Games to PC Is Complex
Exclusive deals are only part of the equation. Some publishers simply choose not to publish games on PC, either entirely or for a certain period, because it’s often cheaper and easier to make and optimize games specifically for consoles. Consoles are a uniform platform. All PlayStation 5s in the world essentially usethe same hardware, whereas gaming PCs can have a widecombination of different parts.
While modern consoles use hardware built by AMD that’s moresimilar to PC hardwarethan ever before, console games still require significant adjustments in code before they can beported to PC. This is followed by months of testing across a wide range of different CPU, GPU, RAM, motherboard, and storage combinations.
The game also has to be tweaked to play better with keyboard and mouse, support custom key binds, and offer a wide range of graphical options,ultrawide monitor support, and more. In some cases, publishers addDenuvobefore porting to protect the game from piracy, which further complicates development.
Extensive testing attempts to ensure that games run flawlessly once released, but even then, it typically requires several additional patches post-launch before the game reaches its optimal shape.
If this step is skipped and the game launches on both console and PC simultaneously, we typically see more egregious performance issues on the PC side. Unfortunately, this happens quite often. In just the past couple of years, we saw this happen withDragon’s Dogma II,Hogwarts Legacy,Forspoken, andStar Wars Jedi: Survivor.
The Markets Are Completely Different
It’s no secret that the PC and console gaming markets are completely different. Consoles have a significantly higher number of casual gamers who prefer large,triple-A gameswith stunning graphics, exceptional story-telling, and seamless gameplay.
These gamers often don’t mind paying full price for a game at release or waiting for a small discount. Backward compatibility is improving on consoles, but generational leaps still exist. This means you can only play PS5 games on a PS5 console. You may even need aPlayStation Plus subscriptionto play older games.
WhilePC gamersalso love their triple-A games, and sales are continuing to grow, it’s still asmaller market. This is because PC gamers have a near-endless selection of games to choose from.
If a new triple-A game is currently too expensive, you’re able to just play some older, free, orindie gamesinstead. You know that the triple-A game everyone is playing right now will beput on saleeventually, so you don’t mind waiting a while.
Yourcomplete Steam librarystays with you, and you can be fairly confident that your old games will run on any new PC you eventually upgrade to. Plus, you canmod older gamesto get even more hours of fun out of them.
Moreover, many PC gamers preferonline games, which are typically free and generate revenue throughmicrotransactionsinstead of game sales. This segment of the market is dominated by a handful ofcompetitive esports gameslikeLeague of Legends,Counter-Strike,Valorant, andFortnite.
Some dedicated gamers 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 because of native mouse and keyboard support andhigh refresh ratesbeyond what consoles support, among other reasons.
The Wait Is Sometimes Worth It
If having to wait longer for a PC release is what it takes to ensure the game is perfect—or at least in a playable state—then perhaps it’s worth the wait. As a PC gamer myself, 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’s titles, such asRed Dead Redemption(which took 14 years) and its sequel, not to mentionGTA Vand its many prequels. Sony’s exclusives likeHorizon Zero DawnandForbidden West,God of WarandRagnarök,Ghost of Tsushima,Uncharted, andMarvel’s Spider-Manwere also notably delayed. Successful game releases build trust between publishers and gamers, which is great for everyone.
Whilepre-ordering gamesstill generally isn’t a good idea, if you want to do it, only pre-order PC ports from publishers with a proven track record. I can say with reasonable confidence thatGTA VIwill be awesome on PC, even though it’ll likely take an extra year after the console version launches.
