According to Epic Games, over 4 million people have already downloaded PC Building Simulator for free on the Epic Games Store. The game was made available for free on the platform from October 8th to the 17th.
“Build and grow your very own computer repair enterprise as you learn to diagnose, fix and build PCs. With real-world licensed components and comprehensive hardware and software simulation, you can plan and bring your ultimate PC to life,” reads a product description on the Epic Games Store.
PC Building Simulator was first launched on January 29th, 2019. The game usually costs $19.99.
The Profit‘s Take:
Don’t get me wrong, I own several gaming PCs. Each one is a work of art and a labor of love. With that being said, I can say from experience that it is a pain in the ass to build a PC, regardless of what you are doing. Why would four million people claim this game? I don’t get what the attraction is here. I guess people will just download ANYTHING for free on the Epic Games Store. It doesn’t seem like all these downloads are real forms of engagement. I highly doubt 4 million people are going to play this game. I downloaded this game for free, but I will NEVER play it. However, I get the point in claiming it. Regardless, I wouldn’t have been upset if I had missed this drop. This is sad because It Takes Two, which is an amazing game and experience, only got 3 million downloads. Free is a very powerful draw. Here’s an analogy for Epic. I want to open a candy store that I have big ambitions for. So, I am going to make 10 million pieces of bad-tasting candy and give them away for free. Just because people take my free candy doesn’t mean my store is going to be a success. I just want to know how many people actually play this game after downloading it for free. I worry that many users on the Epic Games Store are like me: they download the game, close the Epic Games Store, and never play it. We can conclude that their reach and ability to get customers is huge… as long as their products are free.
(All information was provided by Epic Games Store, OC3D, and The Verge)
While this is a Simulator of sorts, it isn’t exactly like real life. If it were, it wouldn’t be as fun. It is a game, and is rated very positive with over 40k reviews on Steam( moving up to Overwhelmingly positive lately likely due to the recently added free IT expansion).
In addition to the main career mode which I personally find pretty fun and engaging( about 530 hours in as of this writing) there is also a free build mode which lets you use every part available in the game whether you’ve unlocked it in career mode yet or not.
With Covid and everything else going on right now, it’s pretty much impossible to get a graphics card without paying way more than MSRP. This game is a cheap way for people to at least build the gaming rig of their dreams in a virtual environment. My two cents.
Not actually a very detailed simulator, making it a more fun game to play than it would be otherwise. The recent free IT expansion only adds to the 40k+ great reviews the game has on Steam .
I’ve spent about 530 hours playing so far(mostly career mode) and a big draw during Covid is building the gaming PC of your dreams virtually in Free Build mode when you can’t afford a good GPU irl.