Prey devs 'doubled thoroughness' to ensure PC version won't repeat Dishonored 2 mistakes

Dishonored 2 may have released to critical and commercial acclaim last year, but PC gamers were faced with various technical and performance issues at launch.

Although these issues were eventually remedied through patches, developer Arkane Studios is intent on making sure such problem aren't repeated when its much-anticipated sci-fi shooter Prey releases this week.

Given that the recently-released hour-long demo of the game was only available on PS4 and Xbox One, some fans have expressed concerned about the game's PC version.

It is worth noting that Dishonored 2 was made by Arkane Lyon, while the upcoming Prey reboot was developed by the team at Arkane Austin.

Also, Dishonored 2 was developed using Arkane's Void engine, while Prey was created in CryEngine 3.

Arkane Studios chief executive and creative director Raphael Colantonio said the development team "doubled [its] thoroughness" in testing the PC version of Prey.

"We're pretty confident," Colantonio told Gamespot. "First of all, it's not like we 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."

He also explained how developers have to consider various hardware configurations and components when it comes to PC development, and it makes the process more complicated.

"The real reason why PC games often have problems is because there are so many permutations of hardware," he said. "[And] sometimes it's timing - drivers come out the same time as our game. Something happens that makes it more challenging."

While Colantonio admitted he could not definitively say Prey's PC will have a perfectly smooth launch, he assured gamers that his team has worked hard to make sure it doesn't run into similar issues.

"This time we - given what happened with Dishonored 2 - we doubled our thoroughness in making sure that the game is going to run smoothly," he said. "At this point the game is fully ready, but that's what we've been doing for the past months - a lot of tests on different configurations and making sure it works.

"So we're pretty confident. You never know. But we're pretty confident."

Bethesda recently released the first hour of Prey as a free, currently available demo for console players. It also revealed the official minimum and recommended system requirements for Prey's PC version.

The publisher has also unveiled the game's eerie and tense official soundtrack by famed composer Mick Gordon that can be downloaded or streamed through iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and Amazon Music.

Prey is set to launch on 5 May for PS4, Xbox One and PC.