According to reliable insiders Jason Schreier (of Bloomberg) and NateTheHate, Sony is potentially preparing to stop the release of first-party single-player games on PC going forward.
On an episode of the Triple Click Podcast, the trio of co-hosts discussed the contrasting multiplatform strategies of Xbox and PlayStation. On the show, Schreier expressed the view that Marvel’s Wolverine might never come to PC, and that Sony could be closing the door on first-party releases on PC altogether.
Xbox Insider Says PlayStation Is “Probably Pulling Back From PC”, Days After Saying “Day And Date” Exclusives Are Coming
“It does seem like the games that PlayStation released on PC didn’t move the needle for them at all.”
“I think for them, their strategy is like, live-service games are coming to PC, but I think the sense I’m getting is that they’re going away from putting their console-exclusive stuff, like single-player stuff, on PC,” Schreier explained.
When asked to clarify his comments after the airing of the episode, Schreier doubled down, saying, “It’s not speculation, but sometimes topics come up on the show before I’m quite ready to publish a story about them. More to come soon, I’m sure.”
Another reliable insider, NateTheHate, echoed Schreier’s sentiments, posting, “Sony is shifting their PC strategy, absolutely.”
The Contentious Relationship Between PlayStation And PC
The relationship between PlayStation and the PC market has always been complex. The Japanese console giant has long viewed the PC as a competitor, while others, such as Xbox, see PC gaming as a separate market to console gaming (though Microsoft’s ownership of the most popular operating system, Windows, means Xbox’s parent company benefits either way).
Japan is a console-dominated market, which is hardly surprising given the enormous influence the country has had on console gaming. For a long time, PlayStation likely didn’t see the potential and/or value in releasing games on PC because the platform is not popular in the company’s domestic market. There are notable exceptions, such as Wipeout (1995).
As a result, PlayStation has been slow to embrace the multiplatform release of its first-party games. Even now, most first-party PlayStation games are released on PC a year after their initial release.
Sony also continues to make timed exclusivity deals that keep third-party releases off PCs for a specified time period. For example, Stellar Blade was released on PC 14 months after its original release on PlayStation 5 because of one of these exclusivity deals.
The delayed nature of these releases is one of the factors contributing to the poor sales numbers of PlayStation 5 games on PC. Releasing outside a game’s initial ‘hype cycle’ will always dampen sales, and multiplatform owners have already bought and played the game on PlayStation 5 by the time the game releases on PC (which still helps PlayStation, obviously).
There’s also the piracy problem, as releasing a game on PC allows a game to be relentlessly pirated and shared around illegally. This is (mostly) impossible on consoles.
From a business perspective, it’s understandable why PlayStation could be pulling back from PC releases if they’re seen as being more trouble than the sales justify.
- Brand
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Sony
- Original Release Date
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November 12, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
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$499, €499, £449, ¥49,980 (Base) // $399, €399, £359, ¥39,980 (Digital),
- Operating System
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Orbis OS
