Naughty Dog has revealed that they are rushing out updates to fix The Last Of Us Part 1 PC as quickly as possible.
They shared this message on Twitter:
“A reminder that we will have a new hotfix live for The Last of Us Part I on PC tomorrow, and a patch on Friday.
We will share patch notes when the hotfix is live, and let you know some of what to expect in Friday’s patch ahead of its launch.
And while we know many of you would like to play The Last of Us Part I on Steam Deck, we are prioritizing fixes and patches before submitting it for verification.
We will keep you updated of its Steam Deck status as we continue to improve the PC version.”
For those of you wondering, a hotfix is usually released almost immediately, and has not been tested beforehand. The reason a hotfix is released rapidly is to address a glaring and immediate bug, that presumably can be addressed that quickly.
A patch is broader, and can bring not only bugfixes to get a game to run properly, but also overall improvements in game performance, optimization, and other changes. Patches do get tested before getting published because they are considerably more substantial updates.
We had previously reported the immediate updates that Naughty Dog has been coming out with for The Last Of Us Part 1 PC on March 29, and also on March 31, 2023.
While it’s an understatement to say that the state of The Last Of Us Part 1 PC upon launch was a disappointment, it should be noted that it was definitely unexpected. PlayStation Studios has done a stellar job of rereleasing their games, that were PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 exclusives, to PC up until now. Horizon: Zero Dawn even has an incredible DRM-free port that can be purchased from GOG.
But perhaps, the reason those games fared better in being ported was that they were PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games, whereas The Last Of Us Part 1 was programmed as a total remaster for the PlayStation 5. The change in programming from making cross platform games to PlayStation 5 games may mean that newer games won’t be as easy to port to PC.
And at the root of it all, ironically, is the selling proposition of the PlayStation 5. While PC enthusiasts can easily build their own PCs that can outperform the PlayStation 5, many gamers won’t have hardware that is as advanced.
When Sony touts the PlayStation 5 design being such that SSDs have reduced the need for loading times almost completely, that should come with a warning. The warning should be that these PlayStation 5 games won’t be easily backported to PCs since not all PCs can do what the PlayStation 5 can do uniquely. And yes, that certainly raises questions about the viability of a potential Final Fantasy 16 PC port.
But I imagine most fans are hoping this isn’t the case, because if so, Naughty Dog and Iron Galaxy can still get the PC port into shape. The Last Of Us Part 1 PC didn’t seem like a game that would need a comeback narrative, and yet here we are.
