Mafia 3 gets slammed on Steam for frame rate lock, 2K responds (update)

On the eve of Mafia 3’s official launch on consoles and PC, the game is getting lambasted by Steam users over what many are seeing as a major shortcoming: its frame rate, which is apparently locked at 30 frames-per-second.

Hundreds of negative user reviews, some of which also complain about the Windows PC version’s crashes and low quality graphics in addition to its frame rate, have flooded Mafia 3’s Steam store page.

The backlash to the game’s performance on PC has apparently gotten the attention of publisher 2K and developer Hangar 13, who addressed the PC gaming audience in a statement on the game’s website. They say an update for Mafia 3 is coming soon that will improve the game’s performance.

We know how important having options that best suit your PC’s performance capabilities are. The team has been hard at work ensuring that Mafia III’s performance is consistent across all platforms, and right now the game runs at a solid 30 frames-per-second. We are currently working on an update for PC that will give players the option to play Mafia III at higher framerates. We’ll share more details about the update, and when you can expect it to arrive, very soon. In the meantime, the team welcomes feedback and would like to hear from you about what performance adjustment options are important to you. We’re actively considering a number of additional post-launch improvements on PC that would give players more control over how they can tailor the game’s experience to suit their rig’s performance. It’s been an incredible journey developing Mafia III and we couldn’t be more excited to get the game in your hands and hear what you think!

Mafia 3’s Steam user reviews, over the course of the day, have risen from “mostly negative” to “mixed.” We’re still working on our own review of Mafia 3, as publisher 2K did not make the game available to press in advance of its launch on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One.

Update: On Thursday evening, 2K offered PC gamers an update on the progress of Mafia 3’s unlocked frame rate patch:

We currently have a patch running here at the studio that includes 30, 60, and unlimited frames-per-second options in the video menu, among other improvements for the PC version of Mafia III. We’re verifying the patch now to ensure everything is working as expected. If everything goes well, we expect the update to go live this weekend. We will be keeping the PC community up-to-date on the status of the patch throughout the weekend and thank you for all the feedback!