Strategy change at Sony: no more Playstation games for the PC

Domagoj Belancic

4.3.2026

Translation: machine translated

There will be no more big Playstation games for the PC in future. Sony is returning to the tried-and-tested business model with exclusive games.

Several industry insiders reported last week that Sony would be withdrawing from the PC market with its Playstation games. Now, renowned gaming reporter Jason Schreier has confirmed the truth of these rumours with an article on Bloomberg. Sony itself has not yet officially commented on the leaked information.

What's changing

Over the past seven years, Sony has released more and more initially exclusive console titles for PC - including high-quality titles such as «The Last of Us Part 2» and «Horizon Forbidden West». This is now set to end. Sony is returning to the tried-and-tested console business model with exclusive games and saying goodbye to the PC business.

Upcoming exclusive games such as «Saros» (April) will remain on the Playstation platform. Schreier does not mention the second exclusive hit «Marvel's Wolverine» (September) for this year by name - but it can be assumed that the comic hero will also remain on Sony's platform. Ports of previously released PS5 games such as «Ghost of Yōtei» have also been cancelled. Games that were developed with external studios, such as «Kena: Scars of Kosmora» or «Death Stranding 2», are exempt from the change in strategy.

Live service titles from the Playstation studios will also continue to be released on PC - these include «Marathon», «Horizon: Hunter's Gathering» and the beat'em'up «Marvel Tokon». It is not surprising that multiplayer titles continue to be released on multiple platforms. Online games thrive on a broad player base. This can be built up more quickly on multiple platforms than on a single closed system.

The new strategy is not set in stone forever, Schreier's sources emphasise - the video games market is too unpredictable for that. In a few years, the situation could look completely different again. For the time being, however, PC users should no longer expect Playstation ports.

Why the change in strategy?

Sony's entry into the PC gaming market was a sensation. The first PC ports («Horizon: Zero Dawn», «Days Gone», «God of War») hit like a bomb and sold extremely well on Steam and in the Epic Games Store.

After the initial hype, the sales figures for new releases slowed down. «Horizon Forbidden West», «Ratchet & Clank» and «God of War: Ragnarök» all fell short of expectations. According to estimates, the PC ports to date only account for a small proportion (around 2 per cent) of the Playstation division's total sales.

The reason for the drastic decline in sales is probably due to several factors. The fascination of seeing Playstation games on the PC has waned over time. What initially seemed surreal became the norm. In addition, Sony has not exactly covered itself in glory with some quality-questionable PC ports. In addition, there is an irregular release rhythm, delayed releases and pitfalls such as the Playstation account requirement. This caused an online shitstorm for the company at «Helldivers 2», among others.

According to Schreier, critical voices within the company also feared that PC ports could damage the Playstation brand in the long term. This was similar to the case with Xbox's even more aggressive multiplatform strategy. The comparatively low additional revenue from Playstation games on the PC is not worth the long-term erosion of the brand identity.

Microsoft's future plans could also have played an important role in the radical turnaround. The Redmond-based company is planning an open Xbox under the project name «Project Helix», on which users can also install other storefronts such as Steam. This would mean that Playstation games would also run on the next Xbox - an absurd idea that has probably caused a lot of discussion within Sony.

Evaluation: What impact will the U-turn have on Sony's console business?

One reason for Sony's multiplatform experiments was the rising development costs of AAA games. Projects such as «Spider-Man 2» now swallow up over 300 million dollars. These are incredible development costs that are difficult to recoup with a release on a single platform. Such blockbuster games have to break sales records to avoid being categorised as a flop. With the return to console exclusivity, the pressure on individual studios to succeed will continue to increase - and with it the risk of studio closures.

However, Sony turning away from such expensive blockbuster productions seems out of the question. After all, the prestigious, highly polished single-player games are the flagship of the Playstation brand. Instead, two options seem likely with which Sony can generate additional revenue.

Option A: Sony continues to invest more in live service games alongside single-player games in order to boost sales. Missteps such as «Concord» will be accepted as long as golden donkeys such as «Helldivers 2» can establish themselves on the market in the meantime. Compared to single-player titles, these online games bring in money in the long term - even on the PC.

Option B: Sony fills the gaps between AAA releases with less elaborate titles. Similar to what Nintendo does with its exclusive strategy. Between major blockbuster releases, the company publishes smaller or more experimental titles. This diversification not only provides variety, but also reduces the risk of potential flops.

Sony has already made a good start with the surprising release of «God of War: Sons of Sparta»:

A potentially difficult future lies ahead for Dutch studio Nixxes, which has been part of Playstation Studios since 2021. The team specialises in PC ports of single-player Playstation games. Nixxes has so far been responsible for the ports of the two «Spider-Man» games, «Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart», «Horizon: Forbidden West» and «Ghost of Tsushima».

It remains to be seen whether Sony will still have a future use for the studio - for example for ports of live service games. In light of the recent closure of remake studio Bluepoint, anything seems possible.

Domagoj Belancic

Senior Editor

Domagoj.Belancic@digitecgalaxus.ch

My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.

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