Sony shifts PC strategy towards console exclusivity
Sony reportedly halts PC porting efforts for single-player PlayStation 5 games
Recent years have seen Sony bring more and more of its classic PlayStation titles to PC, to the point that it created its PlayStation PC publishing unit in 2021 to support these efforts. Now, it looks like Sony has fallen out of love with the PC gaming market. The company has reportedly pulled back from its PC porting efforts and no longer plans to bring its big single-player games to PC.
According to Bloomberg, Sony has no plans to release PC versions of Ghost of Yotei and Saros. These games will be exclusive to PlayStation 5. Multiplayer titles should continue to be multiplatform.
Sony of Sony’s PlayStation PC releases did not meet expectations, according to Bloomberg. There are also concerns that PC releases could weaken the PlayStation brand moving forward. With Valve aiming for the living room with its upcoming Steam Machine, Sony’s concerns aren’t unwarranted. Add on the rumours that Microsoft’s next Xbox will be very PC-like, and it’s easy to see why Sony may want to minimise risk.
PlayStation’s PC efforts have been successful, but not successful enough
With God of War (2018) selling over 4 million copies on Steam alone, Sony’s reported decision to abandon PC is strange. That said, not all PlayStation PC games are huge hits. Furthermore, Horizon: Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok both had lower peak player counts than their predecessors on PC. This suggests that PlayStation’s PC games may be less popular now that the novelty of having PlayStation exclusives on PC has worn off.
Sony’s PC efforts have also been plagued by poor-quality ports. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 had major issues at launch, as did The Last of Us Part I and the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. These issues have undoubtedly impacted sales, as PC gamers expect a good experience with Sony’s AAA efforts. These games have undoubtedly sold below Sony’s expectations, especially considering the success of Sony’s earlier PlayStation PC efforts.
Sony is right to be concerned about PC
If Valve’s Steam Machine is a success, and Microsoft turns Xbox into a consolised PC, Sony will be right to keep its games exclusive to its hardware. Sony already had concerns that its PC games would impact console sales. If Xbox becomes a PC and Valve becomes successful in the “console” space, Sony’s PC efforts could undermine its core console business.
If this is what Sony believes, it is likely that Sony will start acting more like Nintendo. Nintendo never releases its games on competing hardware platforms. If Sony wants to maintain its console dominance, it needs exclusives to draw games to their hardware. Timed exclusivity may not be enough for PC to eat into Sony’s PlayStation market share. Sadly, this likely means that the era of PlayStation PC may be coming to an end, at least for the most part.
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