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Batman: Arkham Knight now offering unconditional refunds to PC gamers through Dec. 31

Owen S. Good is a longtime veteran of video games writing, well known for his coverage of sports and racing games.

Batman: Arkham Knight may at last be playable on PC and back on Steam, but that doesn't mean it's problem free. Users are complaining of lingering issues with framerates and bugs and it's enough for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to offer full refunds through the end of the year.

WBIE made the announcement this morning on Batman Arkham Knight's Steam page, and the offer includes a refund for the Season Pass of downloadable content, provided both it and the main game are returned (you can't keep the game and refund the pass, for example). Refunds will be honored regardless of how long one has played the game.

"We are very sorry that many [of] our customers continue to be unhappy with the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight," WBIE wrote.

Batman: Arkham Knight's PC edition "re-launched" on Wednesday, four months after its launch alongside the acclaimed console versions. The first draft of the PC port, handled by Iron Galaxy, malfunctioned so comprehensively that WBIE took the unusual step of removing it from sale on Steam altogether, pending fixes.

"It drives me crazy we're still dealing with this."

The second stab at Arkham Knight still falls short of expectations. "The game still runs terribly," noted this Reddit user, saying "the game is plagued by stuttering, hitching, freezing, dropped frames and general inconsistency." Others complained of "worse framerates now than at launch.

"It drives me crazy we're still dealing with this," another user complained. "If not for the problems this game would be in my top five for 2015 but playing it has always been a nuisance." Steam forum threads are full of the same kind of sentiment.

Eurogamer's Digital Foundry also took a look at the re-release and found Arkham Knight still "is a wholly sub-optimal release that remains one of the most disappointing PC versions we've played.

"All the contrition from developer and publisher a few months back means nothing if there is no end product that puts the situation right," Eurogamer wrote.

In announcing the "re-launch" of Batman: Arkham Knight, WBIE offered buyers every preceding version of the Batman: Arkham series on PC for free, to entice wary PC gamers to make the $49.99 purchase.

For those who are sticking with the PC game anyway, "we are going to continue to address the issues that we can fix and talk to you about the issues that we cannot fix," WBIE wrote.