Sony first-party singleplayer games to stay PlayStation console exclusive, no longer release on PC

Sony will no longer release its singleplayer first-party games on PC as the group revalues its portfolio.

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According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Sony's PlayStation games division held a meeting today that discussed first-party games on PC. At the town hall, PlayStation boss Hermen Hulst reportedly said that all narrative-driven singleplayer games from first-party studios will be exclusive to PlayStation consoles and will no longer come to PC.

This implies that Sony has attached new value to its first-party games as the portfolio relates to its PlayStation ecosystem, which is an important consideration as the company gears up for its next-gen PS6 console. The move also comes at a time when Sony's PS5 shipments reach an all-time generational low. Both the PS5 and PS6 generations will undoubtedly be bridged with backwards compatibility, and locking software to the platform adds more value while bringing back a more fierce platform rivalry in the process.

It's said that recent singleplayer games like Suckerpunch's latest Ghost title will remain exclusive to the PS5 and will not come to PC. All future singleplayer games after this point will likewise be exclusive to PlayStation consoles.

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Our findings indicate that Sony's games have made $2.3 billion in gross sales on the Xbox and PC platforms. That being said, the off-platform sales segment (aka Other Software) only makes up a small proportion of PlayStation's earnings--just 2.4% in FY25.

Sony's own reports also may reinforce why the company is making this move--the actual net revenue from PC game sales is lower than the $2.3 billion number, and Sony may no longer think these earnings are worth the potential damage to the PlayStation hardware ecosystem--especially at a point when shipments are dwindling and more PS5 price hikes could be on the horizon.

Sony also today announced a small $1.00 price hike to its PlayStation Plus Essential subscription service, driving up the monthly price up from $9.99 to $10.99, and a +$3 increase to the 3-month option, which has gone up from $24.99 to $27.99.