Rocksteady has promised gamers that the recently-delayed PC version of upcoming action game Batman: Arkham City will be worth the wait.
Last week publisher Warner Bros. announced that the PC version will release in November, with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions still on track for a 21st October launch.
While Rocksteady co-owner and Batman game director Sefton Hill was unable to offer an explanation for the delay when quizzed by Eurogamer at the Eurogamer Expo today, he said PC gamers shouldn’t be too upset – the delay amounts to only a couple of weeks, and, if they have a high-end PC, they’ll enjoy better visuals than their console gaming brethren will.
“We’re really aware of all the different SKUs,” Hill said. “What’s great for us is we have gamers who are real console gamers and gamers who are PC gamers. I guess, generally, I would consider myself more of a console gamer. I do play more of my games on console. But then we have people in the office who are really hardcore PC players, and they will always pull me up and say, we need to sort this out, we need to sort that out.”
The PC version of the first Batman game won praise from fans – and it sounds like the second game, which recently went gold, will also please PC gamers.
“We got a lot of credit on the first one, about how well it played on the PC, and how well-refined the controls were,” Sefton said. “It’s because part of our attitude is always to listen to those people. We want to make the best game we can for all SKUs.”
So, what can PC gamers expect from Batman: Arkham City?
“If you do have a super powerful high-end PC, you are going to see higher detail textures,” Hill explained. “You are going to see a more richly realised world. But having said that, given there are so many console gamers in there, we’re always fine-tuning to get the game to run super smooth on Xbox and PS3. The console versions look great as well.
“All of the source textures and assets are done at a very very high res and we make them work on all the different SKUs. People will really love the PC version when it comes out.
“The wait will definitely be worth it. The PC version has just been pushed back, but it’s only by a couple of weeks, so hopefully no-one will be too upset about it. We’re working as hard as we can to get it out as soon as we can.”
