As multiplexes fully open and movie distributors scale back on the hybrid broadcast/cinema strategy, modern cinema stands at a crossroads. Audiences don't return to theaters in large numbers for a variety of reasons. From rising ticket prices and all things cinematic experience to the emergence of Oscar-worthy movies on streaming platforms like Netflix and AppleTV+, there's not much interest right now.
This is why movie studios turn to established franchises, remakes/reboots, and intellectual properties like comic book adaptations. Of course, legendary filmmakers like Martin Scorese and Francis Ford Coppola have used the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to point out the lack of big-budget original storytelling. Modern console and PC games have also faced a similar argument, and even some of the best PC games sometimes go in the same direction content-wise.
Newer IP addresses with budgets close to AAA have been rare over the last decade. Just a look at the highest grossing games of 2021, the top ten were literally exclusive to sequels and reboots. Original IPs don't start appearing until issue 13 with decades-old Minecraft paired with Back 4 Blood (Left 4 Dead's spiritual successor) at issue 18. In 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 was the only non-sequel to rank between the top ten and is adapted from a pen-and-paper role-playing game.
This year seems to be a bit different for big-budget AAA titles with the runaway success of Elden Ring alongside upcoming releases like Forspoken and Starfield (although Elden Ring, while full of original elements, is still a FromSoftware "Soulsborne" title). ). However, these are more exceptions to the rule. When it comes to PC games specifically, big-budget AAA exclusives don't make as much sense to developers as they used to. That's because the platform has maintained its reputation as an experimental playground for creators of all budgets.
PCs are great for indie developers with new ideas
Outside of third-party AAA games, day one releases on Microsoft Game Pass, and later later ports of Sony PlayStation exclusives, PC gaming still manages to exist in its own world.
It starts with independent developers at heart. While The Batman and Doctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness have become the highest-grossing movie events of the year so far, there's still plenty of room for well-received independent films like Everything, Everywhere at Once.
For every Elden Ring, Horizon Forbidden West, and Halo Infinite, there are plenty of ultra-popular games with smaller budgets, from Saber to Loop Hero. On Steam alone, 90% of the games available on Steam come from independent developers and just under half of sales on the digital store come from independent titles, according to reports.
Interestingly, the data also showed that indie games currently only make up 30% of the active user base, so yes. A recent YouGov study also showed that PC indie games alongside consoles are the only type of games to see year-over-year growth among hobby and gaming enthusiasts.
PC is the only place to get quality VR gaming.
The freedom to develop on the PC is why VR has finally gained mainstream acceptance. Before Facebook (now Meta) released the standalone Oculus Go and later the Quest line of VR headsets, the Rift was a PC-only affair. Although the Rift line has been discontinued, the Valve Index and HTV Vive headsets still exist for the niche market.
Oculus Link even allows PC gamers to now connect Quest headsets to their PCs. Some have now called VR "indie developer heaven." Now part of Meta, the creator of Beat Saber, Beat Games, was an independent studio based in the Czech Republic before the popular rhythm game took off.
On the AAA side, the current benchmark for big-budget VR experiences is Half Life: Alyx. EA even attempted to resurrect the Medal of Honor franchise with a big-budget PC VR game, but the reception was lackluster at best. Although major developers have pretty much given up on VR or are waiting for what Sony has to offer with PSVR2, independent experimentation has kept a steady stream of releases going.
eSports is essentially a PC affair
Perhaps one of the main reasons PC games don't need blockbuster releases like consoles is because the platform effectively drives the entire esports industry.
With a growing value of €1.8 billion, competitive gaming in its current form is the biggest on PC. With a clear focus on the multiplayer experience, these games receive constant updates that can last for years. Of course, the competitive aspect where money is at stake is sure to excite many participants, however, there are many who just want to enjoy the game.
PC gaming is among the top ten games with the largest purses. Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, League of Legends, and Arena of Valor, among others, require a competitive platform.
To put that into perspective, last year's International 10 tournament for Dota 2 had a prize pool of over €40 million. Reaching the final of the Fortnite World Cup wins a minimum of €50,000 with the overall winner taking €3 million.
PC games have a sense of history that consoles just don't
Aside from esports, virtual reality, or the plethora of indie games available, default PCs are better for game preservation.
For people who may have the original multi-CD copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic or the original Doom on a floppy disk, there are plenty of things you can do with an external drive. Around the hype of The Matrix Resurrection last year, I was in the mood to play Enter The Matrix.
Finding a $2 copy on Amazon and a cheap external DVD drive, I was able to play it with no problem on my computer. This led me down a rabbit hole where I was playing old PC games that I had stashed away in the closet, from Need For Speed Underground XNUMX to the original Call of Duty. And we're not even talking about the emulation that does a better job of preserving gaming history than Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, albeit in their own homegrown, pirated ways.
Gone are the days when PC games had big exclusive AAA moments and that's fine. In fact, as gaming has become more mainstream, the reasons people play games on PC have changed. Some want to play the latest title that pushes their hardware to the limit; others spend long hours training for the next Dota tournament.
Indie developers, meanwhile, have managed to create games that don't need much glitz, just unique gameplay or clever storytelling. Over the last two decades, the gaming industry has tried to legitimize video games as an art form that rivals cinema. When it comes to PC gaming, wanting that artistic acceptance seems pretty archaic.