PC games, also known as computer games, are video games played on a general-purpose personal computer rather than a dedicated video game console or arcade machine. Their defining characteristics include a lack of any centralized controlling authority and greater capacity in input, processing, and output.
PC games are sold predominantly through the Internet, with buyers downloading their new purchase directly to their computer. This approach allows smaller independent developers to compete with large publisher-backed games and avoids the speed and capacity limits of the optical discs which most other gaming platforms rely on.
Most technology available on console platforms are also available on the PC, such as multi-playing, local area network gaming and online gaming. The majority of large game franchises are also available to play on the PC. Computer games also rely on third-party software such as an operating system (OS), device drivers, libraries and more to run. Today, the vast majority of computer games are designed to run on the Microsoft Windows family of operating systems.