We’re all for graphics technology that further improves the PC gaming experience, but relying on them too much can become an issue. In recent years, we have experienced a string of game releases that bombed with players for multiple reasons, some of which made a glorious return with some time and plenty of optimization. Tech such as Frame Generation and upscaling is all well and good, but it’s there to enhance performance – not hide the cracks.
The thing that spurred this on for us in particular is the recent revelation that Monster Hunter Wilds recommends frame generation to reach 60 FPS at 1080p. Given the fact that even developers such as CDProjektRed suggest at least 60 FPS before you turn on frame gen – not after, it’s discouraging to see AAA games rely on this tech to even reach what we’d call the bare minimum and suffer because of it.
Are game developers completely at fault?
The quick answer is no. Game developers are bound to their contracts and, like any other employee, carry out their assigned tasks, but that doesn’t put them out of the red just yet. The board makes important decisions for the company, such as the direction and setting of the game.
Where does Frame Generation come into all of this? When companies see that a game’s performance could be improved by leveraging technologies like DLSS and FSR, they cut corners, for lack of a better phrase. This leads to unfinished games, and one of the most recent examples of this is Monster Hunter Wilds.
The minimum system requirements for this title state that “This game is expected to run at 1080p (upscaled from 720 native resolution) / 30 FPS under the “Lowest” graphics settings.” Not great. On top of that, even with recommended specs, the game asks you to use Frame Generation to reach 60 FPS at medium graphics settings.
For someone who happily games at 1080p like me, I’d never expect to use tech like Frame Gen to simply enjoy what I’d call the bare minimum framerate for a game on PC (60 FPS) with hardware like the suggested RTX 4060, a current-gen GPU.
As explained above, game developers should know that using frame generation to make the 60 FPS standard is not suggested at all. In fact, AMD explicitly explains that frame generation “requires supported games to be running at ~60 fps before frame generation is applied for an optimal experience”. Without this, you may run into graphical artifacts or latency that can diminish your level of immersion.
A brief history of unoptimized games and backlash
Cyberpunk 2077 is a popular example, released in 2020 and taking seven years to develop. That said, upon launch, it was a disaster in the optimization department, to say the least, and the uproar reached a point where CD Projekt Red apologized in a post on X and offered players a refund. The game has come a long way since then, even running at 100 FPS on integrated graphics with AFMF 2 used correctly, toggled on after reaching near that 60 FPS mark.
Another example is Battlefield 2042, a franchise that started with Battlefield 1942 way back in 2002. One would assume they’d know what their player base wanted. However, that wasn’t the case, as it seemed like EA put all its resources into making a 5-minute, admittedly mind-blowing trailer, and the finished product doesn’t feel as great as a result of poor performance. We even spotted this thread on Reddit that puts in an “urgent request” for an optimization update.
What happened next didn’t surprise anyone; there were massive calls for boycotts, and refunds went through the roof as the game lacked basic features such as an in-game scoreboard. The crashing and glitches were frustrating. Despite that, there was no official word from EA regarding the state of the game, as players were feeling cheated and were expecting an apology.
Final word
In conclusion, technology like frame generation is more than welcome in the world of PC gaming. After all, anything that gets our games running as smoothly as possible can’t be argued with. However, if you’re going to use it to try and patch up poor performance rather than optimize the game at a rasterization level, people are going to take notice.
