Troubled Launch for The Last of Us Part 1 on PC: Steam Offers Refunds with No Playtime Restrictions
The PC version of The Last of Us Part 1 has been facing a rough start since its launch, with many gamers reporting multiple bugs, glitches, and performance issues. These problems have resulted in a barrage of negative reviews on the Steam platform. However, there seems to be a silver lining for unhappy players as Steam is offering refunds on the game, regardless of the playtime. According to one Reddit user, they received a refund even after playing the game for 3.7 hours.
It appears that the long shader compilation times in The Last of Us Part 1 are one of the reasons for the refunds. During the game’s release, mid-range PC builds took up to two hours to compile shaders, which exceeded Steam’s refund time limit. Although Valve may have extended the limit for this game, it is unclear whether Naughty Dog and Valve will issue refunds on a widespread basis.
It’s not the first time a game has faced issues during its launch. Cyberpunk 2077 is a similar example, where CD Projekt Red had to refund around 30,000 customers due to bugs and glitches. Naughty Dog initially delayed the release of The Last of Us Part 1 from 3rd March to 28th March 2023 to allow for further polishing, suggesting that the PC port was rushed to coincide with the hype surrounding the franchise’s TV adaptation.
The developer, Naughty Dog, has acknowledged the issues and is working on patches to fix them.
A recent patch addressed memory, performance, and other issues. However, for customers who remain unsatisfied, Steam refunds may be the best option. What are your thought about this? Did you pre-order The Last Of Us Part 1 on PC? How has your experience been with the game so far? Let us know in the comment section below.
