A new report has revealed that both Ghost of Yotei and Saros (single-player titles) will remain exclusive to PlayStation 5, as Sony appears to bring back console exclusives.
The report comes from Bloomberg, which said Sony still plans to support PC platform releases for multiplayer titles moving forward, just not for single-player titles. Single-player titles like the upcoming Saros and the recently released Ghost of Yotei (fans suspected it would get a PC release like the previous Ghost of Tsushima) will now stay PlayStation 5 exclusive, marking a decisive shift in their release strategy. Interestingly enough, third-party developments like Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and the recently revealed Kena: Scars of Kosmora will still see a PC release, as well as the upcoming Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls.
Bloomberg goes on to suggest that the reports of Xbox’s next console being a hybrid between console and PC may have helped push this decision forward, considering the console is rumoured to play PC games as well as console games. The slowing sales of single-player releases on platforms like Steam and the loss of revenue on those platforms could have also played a role in the decision-making.
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier says, “When someone buys a PlayStation, Sony doesn’t just get their $500+. The company also gets 30% of *everything* they buy on the PlayStation Store. In other words, Sony makes the most money by getting as many people as possible on its consoles,” so that’s another potential reason why they’re only stopping the release of single-player titles, Sony loses a cut of what they would normally receive on their marketplace. Valve’s decision to make a home console-like Steam Machine could have also played a part in PlayStation exclusivity making a comeback, as it would compete for living room shelf space (and playtime) alongside the PS5.
The report doesn’t say Sony gave any reasoning behind the decision, but Sony has tested the waters with its first-party offerings for six years since Horizon Zero Dawn launched on Steam in 2020. It appears the testing has ended for first-party single-player offerings for now.
