# Perforce Helix Core 37 Hacker News commenters recommended Perforce Helix Core and 26 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. **Verdict:** Centralized version control trusted for large files, binary assets and game projects, with per-file locking and strong permissions. Common caveat: a dated UI and stagnant development. ## Why people recommend it - Centralized per-file versioning for game studios (5 comments): "This is why you see continued use of centralized version control systems (e.g. Perforce, ClearCase) at organizations that need these things." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49645219)) "P4 is significantly better at centralized teams who work in the same physical office." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49644560)) "There's a reason why game studios use things like Plastic SCM and Perforce." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47752123)) - Handles large and binary files well (4 comments): "P4 a) can handle big files just fine and b) you don't really care about the history of the entire repository" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49385750)) "Perforce handles large files, and large folders of files, very well." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46049904)) "handle binary files better than Git when i tested it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48007282)) - Integrates with game engine editors (3 comments): "P4 is also really well integrated into IDEs and UE Editor so that I don't need to think about it as much as I need" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48573214)) "Perforce has decent integrations with the game engine editors my friends work with" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48571444)) "other game development tools integrate Perforce better than Git" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46050622)) - File locking and fine-grained permissions (3 comments): "In P4, you can add restrictions to certain directories for only those who have signed the required NDAs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48571625)) "Perforce allows you to lock a file so everybody else cannot make edits to it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47481425)) "very flexible permissions system" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48988261)) ## What people warn about - Stagnant development for years (4 comments): "It was sold to private equity about 10 years ago, and it feels like they've been coasting ever since." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48571694)) "Perforce is an relic of the 20th century that must die in a fiery inferno." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48572218)) "it has and continues to utterly fail at improving at a reasonable pace" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48572947)) - Dated, hard-to-learn UI and concepts (3 comments): "learning to use P4 required learning a ton of concepts for what P4 thinks your workflow ought to be" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48578534)) "Outside of something like Perforce, I've not used a VCS with a worse UI." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48173322)) "It just had a terrible ui and didn’t allow me to code on the beach." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50076996)) - Complicated workspace and checkout model (2 comments): "It always feels like everyone's checkout is a unique blend of local files and permissions you have to fix up now and then." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48579081)) "learning to use P4 required learning a ton of concepts for what P4 thinks your workflow ought to be" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48578534)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Git](https://hackerapproved.com/p/git.md): 814 recommend - [Jujutsu (jj)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jujutsu.md): 335 recommend - [Mercurial](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mercurial.md): 121 recommend - [jj (Jujutsu)](https://hackerapproved.com/p/jj.md): 115 recommend - [Fossil](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fossil.md): 106 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://www.perforce.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Perforce Helix Core", https://hackerapproved.com/p/perforce/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).