Though I Am Alive was originally slated for the PC, it's now only in development for the PS3 and Xbox 360. Alive creative director Stanislas Mettra says that they're bypassing the PC due to piracy concerns.
"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," Mettra told IncGamers. "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."
Though PC gamers have been very critical of Ubisoft's decision, Mettra says we shouldn't confuse protests with genuine interest in the game.
"We’ve heard loud and clear that PC gamers are bitching about there being no version for them," said Mettra. "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?"
He'll probably get a lot of crap for this interview but it's a fair point. If a gamer hears that a new title isn't coming to their platform of choice, they're going to complain about it on principle. The specific game doesn't necessarily matter so it would be a mistake to consider every name on an online petition to be an interested buyer.
In I Am Alive, a man is searching for his wife and child in a city hit hard by a mysterious disaster. Players must traverse the ruins of the city and also fend off any crazed survivors he encounters. Weapons are in limited supply so in some cases he'll need to avoid enemies or scare them off.
Alive will be released through PSN and Xbox Live this winter.
