I get it. More kids on consoles, making protection requirements (and possibilities due to locked ecosystem!) higher.
The kids on PC, on their parents' laptops, far outnumber the avg console generation sales, which is 120 - 150 million, and then the transition to the new gen console. Most of the console userbase are adults.
Compare that to PC, over a billion Steam accounts (while yes, many of them smurfs), and this was before even Covid, it's more now.
However, their argument for also applying this to PC frankly doesn't make sense.
Just have two sets of assets for the affected models - one model+textures for PC, one model+textures for consoles.
Are they trying to tell us that a script that does "if (platform == PC) include model_gooner.pak; else include model_kids.pak;" would be an issue?
Come on, man.
While I am a coder and know about game engine internals, I am certain that everyone else can also see how that sounds like a very lazy excuse.
"jUsT mAkE DiFFeReNt aSsEtS bRo!" is just a tone deaf argument, and the irony is you calling them lazy, when it's in fact you who's lazy (not them) who haven't read their announcement, are out here assuming a game's developer didn't think of this basic shit. If an online random internet poster can think of this, do you think the game's developer didn't?
Read the announcement. They literally posted why it isn't sustainable for them:
Throughout this console port process we've done our utmost to only make changes when they are flagged as absolutely required by our first party partners, and any changes aim to remain faithful to the original tonality of the game, so there is no reason to be alarmed.
Our age rating as it stands for console is ESRB M-rating, PEGI 18, and USK 18 to give an idea. Still, there are other game content requirements that console platforms have in order to exist on their systems, and a portion of these changes will be visible on the PC version.
If a content change was just a texture swap, we were able to apply it to console only while keeping the PC version the same as before. However, if the change involved transforming an entire asset (like adding clothing to a character model) this was less feasible.
There are 2 main reasons that these limited asset changes may be visible on the PC version as well:
1) Maintaining multiple versions of the game with different assets and system mechanics increases the likelihood of bugs to occur in future updates, and subsequent challenges keeping the game updated across multiple versions. Think lighting or optimization issues, for example (or any number of unexpected bugs from maintaining different versions).
2) If the in-game assets were not the same it would make crossplay unusable; the game content must be equal or basically equal for multiplayer to work. Different versions of assets affects multiplayer replication, which is the ability for the server to understand what's happening in-game and host players in the same lobby/server.
Player-induced dismemberment still has a large presence in the game, but is a little more limited as to when it occurs: when alive enemies are shot they can undergo dismemberment, however once they are dead no further dismemberment occurs. Gore dismemberment effects are still gruesome to communicate the dismal reality of deadly force, yet somewhat less gratuitous or extreme. Ultimately, we consider this an okay compromise considering our gameplay design already dissuades use of lethal force anyway.
Some character art involving torture were tuned down slightly to be less over-the-top. For example, the tortured police informant on Narcos is still covered in fresh wounds and blood, but a bit less so.
Some instances of explicit nudity for a handful of civilians and one suspect (Gerard's ghillie suit only scantily concealed himself) have been covered up a bit more.
Although we already make a substantial effort to present mistreatment against children in the game in a responsible way, we made slight thematic expansions of this philosophy in order to better meet certification standards. For example, the child on "Twisted Nerve" has had an animation change to sleeping, instead of the previously convulsive animation from before that had a violent appearance.
We are looking forward to our console launch and relieved to be fully finished with all of our console launch certification processes. We were fortunate enough as a team to pass our certification for the launch on our first submission. Certifying in such a manner is relatively rare in the industry, let alone for a team who has not went through this process together before, and we extend a massive thanks to our entire VOID team and all of our partners who helped make completing this process possible.
No Console maker is censoring their PC version or forcing them to have some sort of parity clause, not even Microsoft (which they're infamously known for), but you have to maintain separate assets (Git) and keep updating them, side by side with your PC version, which takes double the time and resource, to pass console cert. This is standard console procedure. There's nothing new here.
You can still have uncensored PC versions, but crossplay with those assets won't be allowed. It's upto the developer to choose, not Sony or MS.
Indie developers don't have the luxury to skip a huge potential revenue stream, like rockstar or activision. Not even most 3rd party devs do that these days, that's why you see PC ports from most devs today, which was once upon a time, an afterthought.
While I am a coder and know about game engine internals
So, you're an SDE, and are surprised about startups having to create and maintain separate forks in multiplatform development, being more time and resource consuming? I'm even more confused now.
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