The PC version of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana was supposed to arrive alongside the console versions in September, but was unfortunately delayed until December in order to give the developers enough time for polish and optimization. December has now come and gone, and while I would love to tell you something positive I'm afraid there are only bad news surrounding the PC version.
According to the latest update on Steam, the PC version of Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana has been delayed once more due to technical problems. There is currently no new release date set, but if you're interested in learning what exactly is troubling the developers you'll find a few choice quotes right below:
"Low framerate issues and memory leak problems were apparent from the earliest PC builds we received. To help combat these, we looked into the drawing processes, which lead to an overall improvement in performance. However, we are still encountering framerate drops in specific circumstances. The systems regulating these framerate issues are heavily reliant on the architecture of the original PlayStation 4 version and, as such, are not existent in PC architecture. The memory leak issues are somewhat less complicated and expected to be resolved this weekend. But in order to solve these issues, we have determined that we must modify the core level of data in the game.
As the PC version of the game was originally envisioned as a port, we avoided touching the core programming as much as possible and focused on PC performance optimization. However, in light of the feedback of those who have participated in the second beta test, we have concluded that we cannot avoid modifying the core programming.
Once the changes from the relocalization efforts have been implemented at the end of this month, we will be moving development to an entirely different developer who will primarily focus on frame rate improvements as well as other PC optimizations. Once that process begins, we will monitor the progress and determine the release schedule. We will also be sure to give regular updates to our progress.
If you have made a pre-purchase on Steam and would like a refund due to this delay, please use the link provided below:"
While I do understand problems can arise at pretty much any stage of game development, it's still a bit silly how the port team has strung their most dedicated fans along, constantly issuing small delays despite being nowhere near a finished product. It really makes me appreciate the team behind Monster Hunter: World since they straight up said that the PC version is going to take until autumn to complete. It's an excruciating wait, but at least players aren't getting their hopes up every two weeks only to have them dashed over and over again.
Still, I really do hope the team behind the PC version of Ys VIII will manage to pull through since I would love to give it a try as well. As of right now, however, all we can do is sit and wait for more information.