For years, Sony focused almost exclusively on releasing its games for PlayStation platforms, and while the company's focus remains in the console market, it has expanded to PC in recent years. A new report says Sony is having plenty of success with these efforts, with its PC releases thus far collectively bringing in more than $1.2 billion in revenue.
A report from Alinea Analytics put forth this number, based on its own research. The best-selling PlayStation game on PC is Helldivers 2, the report said, selling more than 12.7 million copies.
In total, the report said Sony's five top-selling PC releases on Steam have passed 43 million copies sold collectively. The gross revenue from these sales reportedly amounted to $1.5 billion. This includes $1.2 billion for Sony and Valve's cut of $350 million or more. Valve takes a 30% cut of PC game sales on Steam, falling to 25% after $10 million in revenue and $20% after 50 million.
The report added that Helldivers 2 players are seriously engaged with the game, with a reported one-fifth of players logging more than 100 hours total. More than 200,000 people who own the game on Steam play it every day, the report said.
While Sony is obviously enjoying success with its PC releases, the report said there are signs that show interest in PlayStation games on PC may be slowing down.
"All of Sony's major franchises have already landed on PC. The audience that was once excited to experience these games for the first time has largely been served. Later releases naturally face smaller potential audiences, and our estimates clearly show this," the report said.
Helldivers 2.
Looking ahead, Alinea said the challenge PlayStation faces is landing on the right window for PC releases that "protects PS5 software sales while still satisfying a PC audience that increasingly expects timely releases."
Sony does not have any strict schedules for when a PlayStation game may come to PC, except for the company's commitment to launch live-service games simultaneously for console and PC. The company's marquee first-party PS5 games will not come to PC for at least a year after they originally debut on console.
PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst said Sony doesn't release those games day-and-date across console and PC as part of an effort to protect the PlayStation console ecosystem. "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," he said.
The Alinea report also raised the question of if Sony might look to shift its strategy in response to the Steam Machine launch in 2026. The console-like six-inch cube PC could shake things up.
"If Steam begins to function as a competing ecosystem with its own dedicated hardware that plays PlayStation titles, the relationship changes," Alinea's Rhys Elliott said. "PlayStation may soon face pressure to rethink its timing and release strategy as Steam evolves from a distribution platform into a rival platform with broader reach and fewer constraints."
Microsoft has been embracing PC releases for a long time already, and the company has indicated that its next Xbox platform could embrace more PC sensibilities. The other big platform-holder, Nintendo, does not release any games on PC.
Strauss Zelnick, the head of Rockstar owner Take-Two, recently made headlines when he said the gaming industry is "moving towards PC."
"I think it's moving towards PC and business is moving towards open rather than closed," Zelnick told CNBC. "But if you define console as the property, not the system, then the notion of a very rich game that you engage in for many hours that you play on a big screen--that's never going away."
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A report from Alinea Analytics put forth this number, based on its own research. The best-selling PlayStation game on PC is Helldivers 2, the report said, selling more than 12.7 million copies.
In total, the report said Sony's five top-selling PC releases on Steam have passed 43 million copies sold collectively. The gross revenue from these sales reportedly amounted to $1.5 billion. This includes $1.2 billion for Sony and Valve's cut of $350 million or more. Valve takes a 30% cut of PC game sales on Steam, falling to 25% after $10 million in revenue and $20% after 50 million.
The report added that Helldivers 2 players are seriously engaged with the game, with a reported one-fifth of players logging more than 100 hours total. More than 200,000 people who own the game on Steam play it every day, the report said.
PlayStation's top-selling PC games on Steam
- Helldivers 2 -- 12.7 million
- Horizon: Zero Dawn -- 4.5 million
- God of War -- 4.2 million
- Days Gone -- 3.4 million
- Marvel's Spider-Man -- 2.7 million
While Sony is obviously enjoying success with its PC releases, the report said there are signs that show interest in PlayStation games on PC may be slowing down.
"All of Sony's major franchises have already landed on PC. The audience that was once excited to experience these games for the first time has largely been served. Later releases naturally face smaller potential audiences, and our estimates clearly show this," the report said.
Helldivers 2.
Looking ahead, Alinea said the challenge PlayStation faces is landing on the right window for PC releases that "protects PS5 software sales while still satisfying a PC audience that increasingly expects timely releases."
Sony does not have any strict schedules for when a PlayStation game may come to PC, except for the company's commitment to launch live-service games simultaneously for console and PC. The company's marquee first-party PS5 games will not come to PC for at least a year after they originally debut on console.
PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst said Sony doesn't release those games day-and-date across console and PC as part of an effort to protect the PlayStation console ecosystem. "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," he said.
The Alinea report also raised the question of if Sony might look to shift its strategy in response to the Steam Machine launch in 2026. The console-like six-inch cube PC could shake things up.
"If Steam begins to function as a competing ecosystem with its own dedicated hardware that plays PlayStation titles, the relationship changes," Alinea's Rhys Elliott said. "PlayStation may soon face pressure to rethink its timing and release strategy as Steam evolves from a distribution platform into a rival platform with broader reach and fewer constraints."
Microsoft has been embracing PC releases for a long time already, and the company has indicated that its next Xbox platform could embrace more PC sensibilities. The other big platform-holder, Nintendo, does not release any games on PC.
Strauss Zelnick, the head of Rockstar owner Take-Two, recently made headlines when he said the gaming industry is "moving towards PC."
"I think it's moving towards PC and business is moving towards open rather than closed," Zelnick told CNBC. "But if you define console as the property, not the system, then the notion of a very rich game that you engage in for many hours that you play on a big screen--that's never going away."
Source