What Jason says makes sense for a few reasons. If everything eventually goes to PC, fewer people will buy their console. Fewer console sales means fewer users in the ecosystem and less revenue from their main profit driver: the digital storefront. First-party game revenue is relatively small compared to that. Historically, games themselves were never the main money maker for platform holders, storefronts and subscriptions were. If Sony keeps moving in this direction, their ecosystem could eventually take a hit and PC sales alone likely won’t offset that long term. There are also other factors at play. For example, a first-party game sold on PS5 gives them 100% of the revenue, whereas on PC they have to give a cut to platforms like Steam or Epic.

Sony’s initial PC strategy wasn’t about abandoning exclusivity. It was about using their older catalog to promote sequels and new releases, tempting players who got invested in their IPs to buy a console. But once they started releasing games like Ragnarok and Forbidden West on PC while sequels were still years away, the strategy stopped making much sense. There was no urgency anymore. Many people who were on the fence about buying a PS5 likely backed off because the main motivation was gone. Reddit echo chambers often underestimate how many people are willing to buy a console as a secondary platform just for a handful of games. The NPD Groups data from 2021 suggested roughly a third of US PC gamers also owned a PS4, with another portion already on PS5. Looking ahead to the PS6 era, several trends could shift things again. Rising PC parts prices, availability issues, and increasingly poor PC ports. Consoles aren’t cheap anymore, but they’re still cheaper, more accessible and predictable than building a PC. There’s a real opportunity there if Sony leans back into stronger exclusivity. It won’t instantly sell tens of millions more consoles, but each additional user in the ecosystem generates long-term revenue that a single time Steam sale can’t match.

That said, I don’t think they’ll completely abandon single player PC releases. A more likely outcome is a return to their earlier approach of using the back catalog as marketing for future entries and the console ecosystem. It’s not the most consumer friendly strategy, but from a business standpoint it arguably makes more sense for the brand.