In recent years, we have seen PC ports that left much to be desired due to numerous technical problems at launch. In 2023 alone, several games arrived on the market with bugs and errors that diminished the experience of thousands of players. Are developers lazy and careless?
The latest controversial case is Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which debuted with many issues on PC. Respawn Entertainment acknowledged the situation and promised to release updates to improve stability and fix errors. Meanwhile, the community has already expressed their displeasure through negative reviews.
It is normal for players to be upset when titles they paid for present stability errors and, in some situations, are unplayable. However, a developer from Naughty Dog spoke out about PC ports that debut in poor condition.
In response to a tweet where PC Gamer talked about the poor state of the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor port, Del Walker, character designer at Naughty Dog and former developer who worked at Rockstar Games and Respawn Entertainment, commented that creating versions for PC is something very difficult because there are many variables that must be considered.
"When you make a game for a console, you make it for a set of drivers/hardware. When you create a game for PC, you create it for over 900 possible combinations. I promise it's not laziness. It's just that it's very, very, very difficult [to develop PC ports]," said the designer.
"Something can really look and feel ready until you release it to millions of people. Developers try hard, but it's not easy when dealing with non-standardized platforms. Especially with the complex and graphically intensive modern video games," continued Del Walker.
The developer claims that many people spend their weekends and nights launching patches for players. He says his post only intended to highlight that developing PC ports is difficult and that problems are often unforeseen. "Developers strive, and they will do so more in the future," he concluded.
Something can really look and feel ready until you release it to millions of people. Developers are trying really hard, but it's not easy when dealing with unstandardized platforms. Especially with how complex and graphically intensive modern videogames are.
— Del Walker 🇵🇸 (@TheCartelDel) April 29, 2023
As expected, the worker's statements sparked intense debate on social media. Many players understood his stance but argued that it is the developers' responsibility to launch a product that meets consumers' expectations and money.
Certainly, Naughty Dog and Iron Galaxy were also embroiled in a similar controversy a couple of weeks ago. We must remember that The Last of Us: Part I's PC version arrived in stores with many performance issues and visual errors that broke immersion.
But tell us, do you agree with Del Walker? Let us read your thoughts in the comments.
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