Repeating what he originally said in 2022, PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst said during Sony's latest business update briefing that Sony will not launch most of its first-party "tentpole" titles to PC at the same time as they come to PlayStation 5. The exception here is for live-service titles, which is something Hulst also made clear years ago. Microsoft, on the other hand, launches many of its first-party games on Xbox and PC at the same time, and also as day-one releases on Game Pass.
"We have a dual approach here. On the live-service side, we are releasing our titles simultaneously, so day-and-date on PlayStation 5 and PC. But with our tentpole titles--our single-player, narrative-driven titles that are the backbone of what PlayStation Studios has delivered in recent years and in our history--we take a more strategic approach," Hulst, the new co-CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said.
Back in 2022, Hulst said the company would not bring its marquee first-party PS5 games to PC for at least a year after they originally debut. The exception is live-service exclusive games like Helldivers II, which launched on Steam and PS5 on the same day earlier this year. The Steam release went over positively at launch before Sony announced that Steam players would need to create a PSN account to keep playing. This was poorly received by fans and Sony backtracked.
Also during the business briefing, Hulst said with this approach, PlayStation is hoping that PC players might try one of Sony's single-player games that has already come to PC and then consider buying a PS5 to play a sequel.
Sony has released a number of its single-player games on PC already, including Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, Horizon: Forbidden West, and Spider-Man, among others.
Hulst also added that the same effort is true for Sony's TV and film adaptations--if people watch and enjoy, say, The Last of Us series on HBO, they might be encouraged to buy a PS5 and play the next title in the series. As it happens, Naughty Dog has provided a strong indication that it will make The Last of Us: Part III.
As for why Sony doesn't release its new games into the PlayStation Plus catalog, the company has said the "virtuous cycle" of investment that leads to commercial payoff would be significantly derailed if Sony were to take that approach. For its part, Microsoft is only pushing further into this by bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to Game Pass at launch later this year.
In other PlayStation news, the next State of Play broadcast is coming up today, May 30, promising news and updates on PS5 and PSVR 2 games.
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"We have a dual approach here. On the live-service side, we are releasing our titles simultaneously, so day-and-date on PlayStation 5 and PC. But with our tentpole titles--our single-player, narrative-driven titles that are the backbone of what PlayStation Studios has delivered in recent years and in our history--we take a more strategic approach," Hulst, the new co-CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said.
Back in 2022, Hulst said the company would not bring its marquee first-party PS5 games to PC for at least a year after they originally debut. The exception is live-service exclusive games like Helldivers II, which launched on Steam and PS5 on the same day earlier this year. The Steam release went over positively at launch before Sony announced that Steam players would need to create a PSN account to keep playing. This was poorly received by fans and Sony backtracked.
Also during the business briefing, Hulst said with this approach, PlayStation is hoping that PC players might try one of Sony's single-player games that has already come to PC and then consider buying a PS5 to play a sequel.
Sony has released a number of its single-player games on PC already, including Days Gone, Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, Horizon: Forbidden West, and Spider-Man, among others.
Hulst also added that the same effort is true for Sony's TV and film adaptations--if people watch and enjoy, say, The Last of Us series on HBO, they might be encouraged to buy a PS5 and play the next title in the series. As it happens, Naughty Dog has provided a strong indication that it will make The Last of Us: Part III.
Hermen Hulst, soon to be co-CEO of Sony's PlayStation business, addresses day 1 PC releases. Live service games will come day and date on PS5 and PC, but single player narrative games on PC are designed to then entice PC owners to play sequels on a PlayStation console pic.twitter.com/uAO0stlBS6
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) May 29, 2024
As for why Sony doesn't release its new games into the PlayStation Plus catalog, the company has said the "virtuous cycle" of investment that leads to commercial payoff would be significantly derailed if Sony were to take that approach. For its part, Microsoft is only pushing further into this by bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 to Game Pass at launch later this year.
In other PlayStation news, the next State of Play broadcast is coming up today, May 30, promising news and updates on PS5 and PSVR 2 games.
Source