Earlier this week, the developers behind the impressive-looking action game, I Am Alive, gave a very frank assessment about why their title would not be heading to the PC. Creative director Stanislas Mettra told IncGamers that a PC version of I Am Alive was just not financially viable because of piracy concerns, adding that the PC community was "bitching" about a game they would never pay for. Mattra has since toned down his remarks, and says he would like to see the game make it to the PC, one day...

Mettra's original remarks were as follows:
"We've heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them. But are these people just making noise just because there's no version or because it's a game they actually want to play? Would they buy it if we made it?"

"It's hard because there's so much piracy and so few people are paying for PC games that we have to precisely weigh it up against the cost of making it. Perhaps it will only take 12 guys three months to port the game to PC, it's not a massive cost but it's still a cost. If only 50,000 people buy the game then it's not worth it."

Mettra then wrote to IncGamers, saying he had been "misunderstood" (largely because his native language is not English). He clarified the statement as follows:
"I would really love to see a pc build of the game and I dont think I meant to say 'the game won't happen on pc' it's probably an English language miscommunication (I am not native English speaker)."

"What I meant is that the pc version did not happen yet. But we are still working to see the feasibility of it, which is not necessarily simple. I gave some examples to illustrate the problematic [sic], but obviously it is not in my hands and not my part to talk about this."
That last sentence about the decision not lying in his hands is most likely a reference to the game's publisher, Ubisoft. The company is one of the most vocal opponents of PC piracy, and this week made it clear that other titles in development, such as Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, will not be heading to the PC due to the prevalence of piracy on the medium.

I Am Alive is due for release in late 2012 for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

Thanks, IncGamers via Eurogamer.


Spy Guy says: It's unfortunate that Ubisoft and its developers do not see the PC as a viable medium, unless the model is free-to-play. Do you appreciate their concerns? Or is their response to piracy far too extreme?