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The studio said it has "heard the concerns" of PC players.

Chris Kerr, News Editor

March 29, 2023

2 Min Read
A screenshot from The Last of Us Part I on PC featuring Joel

Naughty Dog has acknowledged the concerns of The Last of Us Part I players on PC, with some claiming the title has debuted on the platform in an "unplayable state."

The one-time PlayStation exclusive arrived on PC earlier this week, but quickly garnered a "mostly negative" rating on Steam after over 6,300 user reviews were submitted.

Only 33 percent of those reviews are positive, with the vast majority instead criticising the port for being poorly optimized, resulting in hour-long loading times in some instances, and crashing frequently. One user even included a "crash counter" in their review to highlight the severity of the issue, while others described the port as "unplayable" and a "technological disaster."

It's worth checking out the stream of user reviews for yourself to get a sense of the issues that are reportedly plaguing the majority of players on Steam, but it seems fair to say the launch has been rocky at best.

Naughty Dog is investigating

In a thread shared on Twitter, Naughty Dog said it has "heard the concerns" of PC players and is "actively investigating multiple issues you've reported."

"We will continue to update you, but our team is prioritizing updates and will address issues in upcoming patches," continued the studio. "Our team continues to monitor our support pages, [where you can] submit a ticket for any issues you encounter."

Specifically, Naughty Dog said it is currently investigating issues related to shader load times, and how they impact performance and stability. It's also looking at why the game might be unable to boost despite meeting the minimal system requirements, a potential memory leak, and why older graphics drivers are leading to instability and other graphical issues.

"We are working on patches, will provide updates as they become available, and will continue to investigate other reported issues," added the company on its PC Support page.

The situation is a notable misfire for the franchise, which recently became a huge success for HBO after making the jump to television, and has become a jewel in Sony's first-party crown.

About the Author(s)

Chris Kerr

News Editor, GameDeveloper.com

Game Developer news editor Chris Kerr is an award-winning journalist and reporter with over a decade of experience in the game industry. His byline has appeared in notable print and digital publications including Edge, Stuff, Wireframe, International Business Times, and PocketGamer.biz. Throughout his career, Chris has covered major industry events including GDC, PAX Australia, Gamescom, Paris Games Week, and Develop Brighton. He has featured on the judging panel at The Develop Star Awards on multiple occasions and appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live to discuss breaking news.

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