The big picture: Later today, Microsoft is expected to make the long-awaited announcement about releasing its Xbox and PC titles, like Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment, on PlayStation 5. Sony this week also revealed similar plans, with the company’s interim CEO announcing that several PlayStation-exclusive games will soon go “multiplatform.”
Talking to reporters during Sony’s Q3 2023 earnings call, Sony president and PlayStation chairman Hiroki Totoki revealed that the company is looking to boost its revenues by launching popular PlayStation titles on competing platforms. According to Totoki, the original purpose of creating exclusive titles was to make consoles popular, but given the current market trends, releasing them on multiple platforms can help game developers and publishers earn additional revenue.
As part of the plan, Totoki said that Sony will launch some of its exclusive PlayStation titles on rival platforms to reach more gamers. He further hinted that first-party games could now come to PC, but it remains unclear whether this could extend to Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
It is worth noting here that a number of PlayStation titles, like God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves, The Last of Us, and Death Stranding, are already available on PC, while Helldivers 2 launched simultaneously on PC and PS5 earlier this month. In keeping with Sony’s new strategy, Horizon Forbidden West is also expected to be available on Windows in the near future.
Totoki’s latest announcement could mean that more such PlayStation titles could be released on PC going forward. It remains to be seen if the new strategy will hurt PS5 sales, but Sony expects that any loss will be offset by the large swathes of PC gamers picking up its first-party titles.
Meanwhile, Sony also confirmed that the company has no plans to release any “existing major franchise titles” before April 2025. This means that gamers shouldn’t expect any sequels or spin-offs for existing franchises, but there’s no word on whether Sony will still release brand new games over the next 14 months. That’s good news, as it suggests that the rumored upcoming titles from Naughty Dog and Bluepoint Games could still be in the pipeline for next year.