Quantum Break has some problems on PC. The Xbox One console exclusive is a part of the first wave of Microsoft published games they hope bridges the gap between their console market and the PC gaming market. It’s a bridge Microsoft has attempted to build before, with poor results, but to put a long awaited game like Remedy’s Quantum Break across shows some good faith. However, consumers are finding out the hard way that Quantum Break isn’t ready.
Players are reporting all sorts of issues. The game can’t run at 60fps on any 60Hz monitors. Trying to engage the 30fps cap does reign in the frames, but the refresh rate is off resulting in jerky gameplay. The 1080p option only renders out to a reconstructed (a technique used on the Xbox One to free up resources) 720p. There is no quit button found in any menu. The game crashes on some machines with Nvidia hardware. And perhaps most damning of all, the game’s use of the Universal Windows Platform, Microsoft’s emphasis for PC gaming, restricts players from trying to fix any of these problems themselves. There are little to no options to modify the game which means consumers simply must wait, and hope, for the developer.
While I don’t think this will become another Batman: Arkham Knight situation where the developer gives up on improving their product, I do think this is a terrible beginning for what seemed to be a planned and well thought out step forward for Microsoft. The way they spoke about the future of PC gaming and the Xbox One portrayed a level of confidence, without bravado, not seen for a while from Xbox. With the old guard gone and Phil Spencer leading the charge, a more frank, honest, and open-minded Xbox seemed to emerge.
According to Eurogamer the game is clearly developed around the Xbox One, and some of the internal architecture hinders its performance on PC. Maybe Microsoft gave Remedy little time or money to port over to the PC? Maybe Remedy had more problems when the new UWP than originally expected? Maybe, sometimes, video game development just isn’t that easy and stuff happens?
I’ve reached out to both Remedy Entertainment and their publisher Microsoft Studio for a comment and will update this article if I hear anything in return.
