ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the rise of PC gaming from the late 1980s to today and the technological developments that helped shape the computer gaming landscape. It reviews the rise of indie games and digital distribution platforms including Steam. Coverage extends from the rise of the PC compatibles, to the explosive growth of Windows 95 and online gaming, to virtual online worlds, virtual reality, and cloud gaming. Even with these revolutionary titles appearing on the PC platform, the enormous success of the home console market took a toll on the PC gaming industry by the early 1990s. The popularity of PC gaming continued into the new millennium, although developers continued shifting their focus to home consoles, which had a larger user base and were easier to develop for. The concept of Virtual reality (VR) spans decades into the twentieth century. The military also use VR during post combat to help soldiers with conditions such as PTSD.
