In early October, I managed to snag a copy of Horizon: Zero Dawn for PC from CDKeys, gearing up for the much-anticipated remaster that was set to release later that month. Just as Sony pulled the original game from Steam, I seized the moment and grabbed it quickly before the supply dwindled. I figured adding another $10 on top of the $12 I spent on the key would make the remaster a worthwhile investment.
And boy, was I right—playing it was an absolute blast. Sure, the gameplay mechanics felt a little dated, but that didn’t stop me from having a ton of fun venturing through the wilderness, disassembling robotic foes as though I were a tribal Max Payne in slow-motion. If only the sequel had trophies on Steam—that’s my only gripe, strange as it might sound. I do love my achievements.
Mostly gaming on a Windows PC and being part of the Xbox ecosystem doesn’t mean I have anything against Sony. In fact, my all-time second favorite game is Uncharted 4, right after the original Red Dead Redemption. Uncharted 4 has also been available on PC for a while now, and here lies the dilemma.
PlayStation, comparable to a kid reluctantly being pulled out of a toy store by their parent, has slowly warmed up to releasing its games on PC. These releases often happen with little fanfare, and some take ages to make their way to PC players. Yet, the pace is picking up. Just this year, Sony made waves by launching Helldivers 2 simultaneously on PlayStation 5 and PC, marking a potential shift in their strategy.
Since its February release, Helldivers 2 has enjoyed immense success on PC. By March, estimates suggested that over 60% of its sales came from PC. For the first time, the primary platform for a major PlayStation exclusive wasn’t its own console. This trend is surely going to grow in the coming years, much like what is already happening with Xbox.
So what does this mean for PlayStation’s future? Should they be concerned about the PC market? This very question surfaced during a November shareholder meeting. A shareholder questioned, “You have several PS5 exclusives lined up for the year. Is this to encourage the transition from PS4 to PS5? Isn’t there a risk of more users gravitating towards PCs?”
Sony responded, “We are in the latter half of the PS5’s life cycle and the number of PS5 titles is increasing. We’re seeing a positive trend in users moving from PS4 to PS5. They also tend to purchase more software after transitioning, which is good news. We haven’t identified a substantial drift to PC users, nor do we perceive it as a major threat at this point.”
It’s intriguing to note Sony’s strategic language here. They point out that PS4 users are making the transition to PS5 successfully. Even if some PC gamers might switch to consoles, most PS5 players are likely moving from PS4, or even from a competing console like the Xbox One. Sony has suggested in the past that many Nintendo Switch players eventually transition to PlayStation. But with the console market not expanding overall, it’s clear why companies like Sony are exploring new avenues to offer their high-margin software.
Meanwhile, Steam continues to break records, with three weeks ago seeing 39,319,632 concurrent players online. Yesterday’s numbers were just shy of that, indicating a consistent growth pattern that may see 40 million users by early 2025.
Compare this to the NFL, which enjoyed 64 million viewers on a record-setting Christmas day. Steam is pulling nearly two-thirds of those numbers on a daily basis, which is remarkable and something console gamers should take note of.
Besides the booming mobile market, which is already the largest, PC gaming keeps thriving without any signs of slowing down. With PS5 sales lagging behind PS4, the future beckons a shift to simultaneous PC launches, dubbed “day and date.”
I find it hard to understand the opposition to this inevitable change. While it may not happen overnight, every year brings us closer. Last year, Helldivers 2’s triumph pushed Sony to acknowledge that live-service titles would launch simultaneously across platforms. One day, another title will encourage Sony to adapt its strategy yet again.
Having a PS5, I still choose to wait for releases on my Windows PC—especially when they’re inevitably making their way there. Games like Death Stranding 2 and Ghost of Yotei, both sequels to titles that reached PC, are already on the horizon for 2025. In the case of Death Stranding, Kojima Productions even launched it on Xbox, maximizing revenue streams.
Though Sony has indicated single-player games will debut on PlayStation first, what happens when they experiment with simultaneous PC launches for one of those? If it’s a hit, they’d likely reconsider, having already done so several times.
Take Horizon: Zero Dawn, which hit 56,000 concurrent players on Steam—not a bad milestone for Sony. Yet, Uncharted and The Last of Us Part 1 didn’t fare as well. This can be attributed to timing and other factors, like performance and replayability. Games arriving on PC years after their console release lose their momentum or appeal—a lesson Sony might soon fully embrace.
With rising costs in development and marketing, the obvious approach is to cast the widest net possible to secure solid returns. The industry is seeing players like Square Enix reject platform exclusivity for broader access, striving to optimize investments.
Annually, PlayStation’s earnings from other platforms eclipse previous figures. In 2024, they likely approached or exceeded a billion. Clearly, the benefits of “day and date” PC releases are imminent—trust me, it’s closer than you might think.
What are your thoughts? Do you see Sony moving towards “day and date” releases with PC? Could we witness a shift towards games being launched on platforms like Nintendo Switch 2 and Xbox Series X|S? Share your views in the comments below.
