Sony Has Reportedly Returned to Console Exclusivity in Part Because Some Within PlayStation Are Worried That Releasing Games on PC May Hurt Sales of PS5 and Even PS6

A new report has revealed that both Ghost of Yotei and Saros will remain exclusive to PlayStation 5 as Sony begins to pull back from PC.

Bloomberg said that while Sony will continue to release online games on PC, single-player games will now remain console exclusive, marking a significant strategy shift. Sony had a strategy of releasing its PlayStation games on PC some time after they hit console. This new policy marks a return to console exclusivity at a time when console rival Microsoft is all-in on multiplatform.

So, expect to see fighting game Marvel Tokon on PC as well as PS5, and of course Bungie’s extraction shooter Marathon remains a multiplatform release. Meanwhile,the Sony-published but externally developed Death Stranding 2 and Kena: Scars of Kosmora will launch on PC. But plans to release Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yotei were recently scrapped, Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg suggested poor recent sales of PlayStation games on PC and the risk to the PlayStation brand, as well as a potential impact on PS5 and maybe even PS6 sales, were to blame for the policy shift. Meanwhile, Bloomberg suggested the prospect of PlayStation games running on the next Xbox, which looks like it will run PC games, may have also encouraged Sony’s return to console exclusives.

There’s no mention of Marvel’s Wolverine in the report, but given the timing of its release (it’s due out on PS5 exclusively this September), a PC launch NOW seems unlikely.

Sony has in recent years expanded PlayStation to PC, but refrained from going as far as Microsoft, which releases all its games on PC at the same time as console. Sony, however, has employed a staggered approach, releasing its single-player PlayStation games on PC after a period of console exclusivity. When it comes to live service games like Helldivers 2 it’s a different story, with Sony publishing on PC day-one — and in the case of Arrowhead’s third-person action game, to record-breaking success. Indeed, Sony-owned Bungie is about to launch live service extraction shooter Marathon across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S at the same time. Guerrilla’s live-service multiplayer Horizon spinoff, Hunters Gathering.

It’s worth noting recent reports that Sony may have to delay the release of the PS6 to 2028 or even 2029 as a result of the AI-fueled chip crisis. In January, an analyst report suggested that Sony may push the launch of the PS6 beyond 2028 and lengthen the PS5 lifecycle. David Gibson, senior analyst at MST international who focuses on game and tech companies, predicted that “rising memory prices will not impact short-term performance thanks to Sony’s existing inventory.” However, he noted that increased memory costs could become an issue for Sony in the next fiscal year (ending in March 2027), saying “Sony might pass future cost increases onto consumers.”

With that in mind, doubling down on PS5 as the home of exclusive games may help reinforce the console’s value for PlayStation fans, and encourage sales.

Last month Sony announced the shock closure of Bluepoint Games, the studio behind the remakes of both Shadow of the Colossus and Demon’s Souls. Sony still operates PC port specialist Nixxes Software, which it bought in 2021.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].