Console owners have been having a great time playing the newest Batman game from Rocksteady Games, Batman: Arkham Knight, but PC players have been left to wait for fixes to roll out to iron out the myriad of optimization issues that cause the PC version to run significantly worse than its console counterparts.
On July 17th, a post was made on the Steam forums for the game stating what they’re calling an interim patch is planned to drop in August that they hope will clear up many of the issues listed in previous post. The full statement reads as follows:
As an update, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Rocksteady and our partners are targeting an interim patch update for existing players to be released in August. This update will address many of the issues we listed in our June 27 update. We will provide additional details as we finalize that interim patch over the coming weeks.
We would like to thank you for your continued patience and invaluable feedback. We are continuing to monitor and listen for any additional issues and are driving towards a full update for everyone as quickly as we possibly can.
While this patch aims to fix a hefty handful of performance issues for the PC version, it’s not intended to be a complete fix. As it currently stands, many players that purchased the PC version of the game had it refunded by Steam, but those that did not are stuck with the broken game. On one hand, “let the buyer beware” is applicable for any purchase, but most consumers agree that some sort of compensation is in order for PC players.
Nothing has been announced regarding compensation, including any intention to do anything to compensate these buyers, despite the fans’ outcry, but the commonly requested season pass free of charge is far from the best option. Still, Rocksteady has assured consumers that they are working diligently to optimize the game and this interim patch is evidence of that.
Relatively good news has come of this, however. When the PC version was pulled from retail shortly following its release, Warner Bros. and Rocksteady originally estimated a fully functional version wouldn’t be seen until early 2016. According to a leaked email, reported on by Kotaku of Australia, a full fix is expected to hit between September and November. While this still isn’t the fully functional version players ideally should have received for their hard-earned cash, it’s far better than having to wait another six months.