Game publisher Warner Bros. Interactive decided to take an unprecedented step by pulling out a just-launched triple-A title off Steam shelves.
"Batman: Arkham Knight" was one of the titles most anticipated by gamers. When it was launched this week, fans flocked to both online stores and retail establishments to get their hands on the latest, and the last, installment in the "Batman Arkham" series. Many fans using consoles found that the game lives up to its hype. However, not all went well for the PC version of the title.
Hours after the launch, players of the PC version took to online forums and aired their disappointment with the game. Most of the complaints have to do with the terrible framerate of the PC version, with "Batman: Arkham Knight" cutscenes freezing in the middle of the game, and unstable frame rates even at minimal specifications. The negative reactions got so bad that the game dropped off from the first page of top downloads on Steam.
Warner Bros. Interactive and the game's developers are still working on the problem, even partnering with graphics experts like Nvidia to roll out a solution. Meanwhile, because of the negative reviews, and since the publisher is still working on a solution, the game has been taken off the Steam downloads list.
According to Gary Lake-Schaal, VP of Game Technology at Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the company will be doing the best it can to reach a solution, and he apologized to the legions of fans who eagerly waited for the game's release.
Said Lake-Schaal, "We want to apologize to those of you who are experiencing performance issues with 'Batman: Arkham Knight' on PC. We take these issues very seriously and have therefore decided to suspend future game sales of the PC version while we work to address these issues to satisfy our quality standards."
The announcement has been posted on both the Steam Community and Warner Bros. Interactive forums.
