Sony is Going to Get ‘Aggressive’ With First-Party PC Releases

Highlights

• Sony is planning an “aggressive” multiplatform strategy, which means more first-party PlayStation games will likely be ported to PC.
• Some notable PlayStation exclusives like Horizon: Forbidden West and God of War Ragnarok are expected to release on PC in the near future.
• Sony’s move towards PC expansion is driven by the desire to increase profits and improve margin performance.

Players should expect to see more PC ports of first-party PlayStation titles, as Sony is promising an “aggressive” multiplatform strategy going forward. In recent years, Sony has been branching some of its biggest games out from the confines of its flagship console, with titles like Horizon: Zero Dawn and 2018’s God of War reaching PC after their PlayStation-exclusive debuts. 2023 was especially big for PlayStation PC ports, as Returnal, The Last of Us Part 1, and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart all found their way onto PC platforms like Steam.

2024 has already seen some impressive PC port announcements from Sony, with Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition set to launch on PC later this year thanks to Nixxes Software – the developer behind ports like Spider-Man: Remastered and the aforementioned Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. Earlier this year, an unverified leak suggested that even more PlayStation first-party games like The Last of Us Part 2, God of War Ragnarok, Demon’s Souls, Gran Turismo 7, and Ghost of Tsushima could make the jump to PC in the coming year, and that 2025 could see ports of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Infamous: Second Son.

This increased focus on porting successful PlayStation exclusives to PC is no accident, as Sony president and PlayStation chairman Hiroki Totoki recently stated that his company is taking a more “aggressive” approach to multiplatform expansion during a recent investors Q and A session (via Eurogamer). Totoki explained that while Sony has historically sought to make its PlayStation consoles more popular through first-party exclusives, in recent times he has found a “synergy” to releasing consoles across multiple platforms and that this could help increase profits. “I personally think there are opportunities out there for improvement of margins,” he stated, “so I would like to go aggressive in improving our margin performance.”

Sony And Microsoft Are Increasing Their Multiplatform Efforts

Hiroki Totoki’s comments surrounding first-party PlayStation games being ported to PC comes at a time when long-time rival Microsoft could also be flirting with the idea of bringing its Xbox exclusives to other platforms. While first-party Xbox titles are often released on PC in addition to Microsoft’s console, there have been rumors of Xbox-branded franchises like Gears of War and Halo making the jump to PlayStation hardware over the past month. None of these rumors have been officially confirmed, but industry insiders and outside observers alike have been buzzing over how this might impact the console landscape going forward.

While Microsoft might be bringing some of its biggest titles to PlayStation, Sony is apparently doubling down on its efforts to reach the PC market with an “aggressive” multiplatform approach, as described by company president Hiroki Totoki himself. The most recent example of Sony’s commitment to the PC market is Helldivers 2, which launched simultaneously on PC and PS5 to great success earlier this month.