PC Gamer

• 1. Founding And Global Editions

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  The United Kingdom saw the birth of PC Gamer in November 1993. Future plc published this monthly magazine devoted to personal computer gaming. The American sister version arrived just a few months later in June 1994. These two editions became the best-selling PC games magazines in their respective countries. Numerous local editions followed, often using materials from the British version. A Malaysian edition existed until it was discontinued in December 2011. The Russian edition closed its doors in December 2008. Sweden developed an independent Swedish edition due to the immense popularity of PC games there compared to console games. An Australian edition ran from August 1998 until mid-late 2004 under Perth-based Conspiracy Publishing. A Spanish edition titled PC Juegos y Jugadores also existed but closed in 2007. In 2018, Future purchased PC PowerPlay from nextmedia and incorporated its articles into the online version of PC Gamer.

• 2. Review Methodology And Scores

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  Editors and freelance writers rate games on a percent scale for PC Gamer reviews. In August 2023, Baldur's Gate 3 received a rating of 97% in the UK edition. No game had previously earned more than 96% by that same UK edition. Titles like Kerbal Space Program, Civilization II, Half-Life, Half-Life 2, Minecraft, Spelunky, and Quake II held the previous high score record. The lowest numerical score awarded in the UK edition was 2%. Big Brother: The Game received this low mark. Its sequel, Big Brother 2, was given an even lower score of N/A%. Reviewers explained they would put the same effort into giving it a mark as they made creating the game. Issue 255 from August 2013 saw the 2% score matched again by Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude. Originally launched with a 3% rating, the re-release tied the floor. The US edition recorded its lowest score at 4%. Mad Dog McCree unseated Skydive!, which had been given 5%, to claim the bottom spot.

• 3. Physical Media Evolution

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  The British edition originally shipped with an accompanying floppy disc. A CD demo disc labelled CD Gamer appeared alongside the floppy disk edition starting from issue 11. The first CD Gamer contained all content from the previous ten issues' floppy discs. That single CD later expanded to two CDs. An edition featuring a 9 GB DVD known as DVD Gamer ran alongside the 2CD edition for several years. Production of the CD Gamer edition ceased as of issue 162. The UK Edition then only came with a single double-sided DVD. In August 2011, the UK magazine announced it would discontinue the disk as of issue 232. They replaced physical media with more pages of content within the magazine and exclusive free gifts. Similarly, the American edition shipped with a demo disk though diskless versions were available. The CDs were replaced by DVDs in the American edition on a month-to-month basis. When PC games with full motion video sequences were popular in the mid-to-late 1990s, PC Gamer's CD-ROM included elaborate FMV sequences. These featured one of their editors navigating a 'basement' like classic PC games such as Myst. The cover disc of the July 1998 issue of the Slovenian, Swedish, and UK editions was infected with the Marburg virus. In September 2011, they announced dropping the demo disk altogether to concentrate on improving the quality of the magazine.

• 4. Regular Features And Content

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  The magazine includes sections called Eyewitness and Previews. Send features letters from readers spread over two-page spreads. At least one special feature reports on gaming related issues such as the effect of PC gaming on the environment. A review section covers latest released PC games and re-reviews titles that have been released on budget. Extra Life reports on modding games and gaming culture while revisiting old games. Systems reviews and recommends hardware such as video cards and monitors. The back page is entitled It's All Over and usually consists of game related artwork. One version featured items from Portal alongside Dalí's The Persistence of Memory. For a time, Gamer Snap printed amusing pictures sent in by readers. That feature was discontinued and replaced with Guess the Game where readers sent drawings of memorable scenes in Microsoft Paint. Subscribers get a special edition of the magazine with no headlines on the front cover. Only the masthead and BBFC rating appear there.

• 5. Digital Community And Podcasts

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  The PC Gamer blog started when the UK site transferred to become part of the Computer and Video Games network. This move brought controversy with many long-standing forum members leaving due to cramped spacing and slow loading times. The introduction of a blog became a redeeming feature of the switch. Staff regularly updated the blog with contributions discussing topics ranging from violent video games to buying a PC over a console. In 2010, PC Gamer re-launched their website and blog by bringing together online communities of both US and UK magazines. The podcast began on the 4th of May 2007 and ran 93 episodes until its final episode released on the 5th of July 2013. A rotating cast included Chris Thursten, Tom Senior, Graham Smith, Tom Francis, and Marsh Davies. Ross Atherton hosted formerly until his departure in June 2009. Tim Edwards took over until his departure in 2012. Host positions varied between Chris Thursten and Graham Smith from week to week. Previously monthly, the podcast was recorded every fortnight. Participants discussed games they had been playing and news from the industry while answering questions submitted via Twitter. The podcast began again in March 2016 with new episodes released weekly.