For a long while, if PC gamers wanted to play the latest PS4 exclusives, they had no choice but to get a PS4 console. But things have been changing as of late.
This is because, while the PlayStation ecosystem had been a walled garden for a very long time, Sony has began putting out its highly prized exclusives on PC for the very first time.
Mind you, with the launch of PS Now people who prefer to play their games on PC have gotten access to a catalog of Sony games, but this via streaming only, which can be finicky sometimes.
But thankfully Sony exclusives have began hitting the PC as stated earlier, with the likes of Horizon Zero Dawn getting a PC version in the summer of 2020. The open-world game with robot dinosaurs saw the light on PC to critical acclaim, while also being very profitable for Sony, repeating its console success on Valve’s Steam store.
More recently, Sony released Bend Studios’ post-apocalyptic zombie game Days Gone on PC, which while not a top exclusive, can now be enjoyed by those who’d rather game on PC rather than on a PlayStation console.
Also, head of PlayStation Studios Hermen Hulst recently said in an interview on the PlayStation blog (via GameSpot) that “we’re still early in our planning for PC”, while also stating that Horizon Zero Dawn’s launch on PC had been “very successful”.
However, those PC gamers expecting Sony to follow Microsoft’s lead and make its console exclusives available on launch day on PC are in for a disappointment, because Hulst also said that Sony’s consoles “will remain the best place to play our PlayStation Studios titles at launch”.
The man pointed out how Sony put out Days Gone on May 18, highlighting that this is “about two years after the PS4 release”.
In the interview, Hulst added that “releasing games on PC will not come ever at the expense of building an exciting lineup of great console games”.
Days Gone is the latest PlayStation exclusive to hit PC, and Uncharted 4 could be next.
Sony’s strategy here just seems to be able to expose more people to their award-winning games, perhaps with the intention of getting PC gamers on the PlayStation bandwagon too.
Indeed, in a report released during the company’s “Investor Relations” day, it highlighted some of the “growth vectors” for its PlayStation Studios, amongst which were PC releases, which according to the presentation would help “create new fans for our IP”.
The Sony presentation also revealed that Uncharted 4 is coming to PC. The action and adventure game by Naughty Dog is one of the top PlayStation exclusives of all time, but may soon stop being exclusive to Sony’s consoles.
Those who game on PC have been able to play the first three Uncharted games on PS Now via streaming for a while now, but it remains to be seen whether Sony will release the remasters on the PC platform too.
But still, it’s good news for PC gamers that Sony is finally taking the PC a bit more seriously, and even if they won’t get to play top PlayStation exclusives on launch date (that is, unless they own a PS4 or PS5 console too), they know that native PC versions of Sony games like Uncharted 4 will eventually be released on their gaming platform of choice, even if this will be later rather than sooner though.