PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst has let slip (opens in new tab) that, going forward, we can probably expect to wait “at least a year” before first-party PlayStation games hit PC. There’s one exception to that rule, though: PlayStation’s live service games, which we might see “day and date” with their console releases. Considering the fact that the company has plans for ten live service games (opens in new tab) in the works, that’s a fairly major commitment to PC.
In an interview with YouTuber Julien Chièze, Hulst said that, “because you want to have a really strong community, strong engagement right away when you go live” with live service games, Sony might opt to release them across multiple platforms at the same time in future. So, at least a year before we get God of War: Ragnarok, then, but PC-based Destiny fans can rest assured that Sony’s purchase of Bungie shouldn’t affect them too harshly.
Sony has, of course, undergone a remarkable shift in its relationship with the PC in the last couple of years. The company bought up PC port-house Nixxes (opens in new tab) in July last year, and the once-impenetrable fortress that housed PlayStation-exclusive games like Horizon: Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and God Of War has fallen. Sony now expects to make $300 million (opens in new tab) from its PC releases in this financial year.
That relationship isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, either. It was only this morning that Hulst was chatting—in frustratingly vague terms—about upcoming investments “to strengthen [Sony’s] expansion on to PC (opens in new tab)“. Dataminers have also uncovered references to a possible PlayStation PC launcher (opens in new tab) in the files of Marvel’s Spider-Man, suggesting the company has plans to stake a permanent settlement on PC shores.
In terms of upcoming PlayStation releases on PC, the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection comes to Steam (opens in new tab) on October 19. We’ve also seen so many hints and leaks about Returnal coming to our desktops (opens in new tab) that Sony really should just announce it at this point. As for The Last Of Us Part 1? Give it a year. And don’t mention Bloodborne, you’re only torturing yourselves by this point.