Sony Pulls Back from PC? Ex-PlayStation Boss Says Platform Business Is Winning

Former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida suggests Sony's shift away from PC ports signals a return to old-school exclusivity strategy, with the platform business winning the argument.

Did you hear the latest about Sony possibly pulling back from PC? According to former PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida, the company might be reverting to its older ways. Earlier this year, it was reported that PlayStation's studio business group CEO Hermen Hulst told staff that Sony's narrative single-player games—like Saros and Ghost of Yotei—would be PlayStation console exclusive going forward. That's a big change from the PS5 era, when games like Horizon Forbidden West and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 eventually made their way to PC.

Speaking on The Verge's Vergecast, Yoshida shared his thoughts on this apparent decision. He pointed out that during the PS4 generation, Sony didn't release AAA first-party games on PC because they believed making them truly PlayStation exclusive was important to appeal to console gamers. Then, during the PS5 era, Sony seemed to be trying to appeal to everyone. Online games like Helldivers 2 launched on PC day one, while big single-player titles had timed exclusivity—giving PS5 users first dibs, but eventually rewarding PC players for their patience. "They felt that would be good enough to appeal to PlayStation users, but at the same time, by releasing first-party games [and] IP to PCs and [reaching] new users potentially… those users playing first-party games on PC might become a fan of that IP, [and] might in the future come to PlayStation," Yoshida explained. "That kind of thinking I think they had."

Now, though, Yoshida suggests Sony's thinking has reverted back to the "older days." The company seems to be leaning more into pushing its platform with exclusives rather than trying to get its first-party games into as many hands as possible. He admits he doesn't know for sure since he's no longer at the company, but he speculates: "Probably, that first-party business versus platform business… now, platform business side is kind of winning the argument, I guess. Platform side always [wants] something exclusive, right?"

It's a bit surprising to hear Yoshida suggest this move is old-school, especially since he previously said that porting games to PC is "almost like printing money." Leaving that behind seems strange, but then again, it's definitely more incentive for those without a PlayStation console to buy one. Yoshida also recently said that Sony and Nintendo "should try to keep the current generation as long as possible" amid hardware price hikes, noting that "people are very happy using PS5 and Switch 2."

So, what does this mean for you? If you're a PC gamer hoping to play the next big PlayStation exclusive, you might be waiting a lot longer—or not at all. If you're on PS5, you're getting more reasons to stick with your console. Either way, it's a shift that could shape the future of PlayStation's strategy.

What do you think about Sony's apparent pullback from PC? Will you be picking up a PS5 for the exclusives, or are you sticking with PC? Let us know in the comments!