Batman: Arkham Knight is out today for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Unfortunately, that last one is having issues.
Apparently, the PC version wasn't made alongside the console versions — a new statement released by Rocksteady indicates that the PC game is a port. What's more, it was handled by a different studio.
Here's the statement:
"We're aware that some users are reporting performance issues with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight. This is something that Rocksteady takes very seriously. We are working closely with our external PC development partner to make sure these issues get resolved as quickly as possible.
"We'll update this thread when we've got more info to share."
Aside from the frame rate and sound issues, it's kind of surprising that Rocksteady had another studio port the game to PC. Xbox One development and PC game development are extremely similar these days, sharing comparable computational architecture and hardware. Not only that, but when the PlayStation 4 was first announced, Sony made a lot of noise about how it had ditched its proprietary chipset in favor of something more PC-like, i.e. easier to develop for.
So if development for both major consoles is so similar to PC development, why would Rocksteady hand off the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight? One possibility is that the game is so incredibly rich and complex that Rocksteady simply didn't have time to focus on anything more than the console versions — regardless of how easy the PC version would be to make. Make no mistake: crafting a game of this caliber is time-consuming and extremely difficult.
But the more serious issue in all of this is that Rocksteady handed it off to another studio and seemingly did not check that studio's work before it was released to the public.
Who is this mystery studio? Why was the PC game released despite these major issues?
More on this story as it unfolds...
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