2011 marked a remarkable resurgence for PC gaming.

When having a computer at home became commonplace in the 1990s, an entire generation of kids immediately smuggled games onto them. “Look, this box can help do the taxes!” “Sure, dad, but it can also run Quest for Glory 2: Trial By Fire.” Games in genres that were perfect for a mouse-and-keyboard setup, like point-and-click adventures, flight sims, first-person shooters, strategy games, and—when CD-ROMs became a thing—FMV games all thrived.

In the 2000s, things changed. PC gaming spent a decade having reports of its death greatly exaggerated, often by publishers and developers who declared it a wretched hive of pirates. In 2008, Cliff Bleszinski said, “I think the PC is just in disarray.” It wasn’t just the big boys being mean either, with even Mads Wibroe of indie darling Playdead claiming piracy was the reason Limbo launched as an Xbox 360-exclusive in 2010.