Sony is ready to get 'aggressive' about putting PS5 games on other platforms
Sony is planning to put more first-party releases on PC with an 'aggressive' multiplatform strategy
Sony is shifting its PlayStation strategy which means we could see more of the best PS5 games landing on PC, and maybe even other consoles, than before.
Sony president COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki said that he wants to “go aggressive” and pursue multi-platform releases to drive more revenue to the PlayStation brand, which has slowly begun to lean on PC releases more in recent years.
Speaking during the company’s financial results, Hiroki Totoki noted that Sony’s strategy has been to use its first-party titles to drive console sales, and while this is still the case, it’s working proactively to improve its performance margins.
“In the past, we wanted to popularise consoles, and a first-party title's main purpose was to make the console popular,” said Tototki. “This is true, but there's a synergy to it, so if you have strong first-party content – not only on our console but also other platforms, like computers – a first-party [game] can be grown with multi-platform, and that can help operating profit to improve, so that's another one we want to work on proactively. I personally think there are opportunities out there for improvement of margin, so I would like to go aggressive on improving our margin performance.”
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: PS5 games on PC
👊 Sony wants to “go aggressive” in improving its margin performance
💡 One of the ideas will be to put its games on more platforms
💨 Sony already brings some of its titles to PC, but releases could be quicker and more constant
🆚 Microsoft releases its games on PC and Xbox on the same day and date
Sony has slowly begun porting more games to PC but has steered clear of releasing games on the same day and date. The recent launch of Helldivers 2 has been an exception to that rule, and it’s paid off. Sony might look to publish more live service and multiplayer-based titles on PS5 and PC on day one but expect to see more PS5 exclusives reach PC faster than before.
The move follows Microsoft’s PC release strategy, which began putting its first-party games on PC the same day and date as Xbox consoles in 2017. That isn’t the route Sony is going just yet, and there’s little chance the company will start publishing its games on Microsoft’s consoles, but it shows that the console ecosystems aren’t enough to sustain Sony and Microsoft anymore.
Sony already publishes MLB: The Show on Xbox, so it might deem other titles worthy of being ported to Microsoft’s systems without jeopardizing the appeal of buying a PS5.
The next big PC release for PlayStation Studios is Horizon Forbidden West on March 21. The game was first released on PS5 on February 18, 2022.