Prey Dev Explains Why There's No PC Demo

Recently, Arkane Studios released a short, free demo for Prey ahead of its May 5 launch date. However, the demo is only available on PS4 and Xbox One, motivating some players to question why there isn't one for PC.

The reason? "It's just a resource assignment thing," Arkane president Ralph Colantonio said in an interview with AusGamers. "We couldn't do a demo on both the console and on the PC, we had to choose.

In addition, he explained that the developer chose to focus on consoles because players on PC can play the game for up to two hours after launch and get a refund for it, due to Steam's refund program. "Besides, PC has Steam," he stated. "Steam players can just return the game [prior to playing] 2 hours so it's like a demo already."

Colantonio spoke with GameSpot this week and emphasized that Arkane does not view the PC version of the game as just a port of the console releases. Rather, the developer is treating Prey as a PC game first.

"We're pretty confident," Colantonio said. "First of all, it's not like we first do the game on console and then in the end we suddenly port the game to PC. It starts on PC. That's how game development works."

Colantonio also referenced the performance issues that plagued Dishonored 2 on PC following its launch last year. In response to fan concerns, Arkane has "doubled" its "thoroughness" on Prey, he told GameSpot.

Prey launches this Friday, May 5 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can currently download the opening-hour demo for Xbox here and for PS4 here. You can check out the game's launch trailer at the top of this article, and keep an eye on GameSpot for more about Prey in the coming days.