KitGuru Games: PlayStation has opened its floodgates to the PC market

Though there was once a time when video games exclusive to one console truly remained that way, we now live in a world where every single Xbox game is also on PC, and some of PlayStation’s best have found their way to the Windows platform. If there was any doubt in what PlayStation’s plans were, they have all been made crystal clear with the announcement that 2018’s God of War is coming to PC. As Kratos himself said: “Now you are ready for a new beginning.”

God of War’s popularity evolved in the shape of an inverse bell curve. When the first few games released, they were met with a massive amount of excitement and success, with series protagonist ‘Kratos’ finding his way into all manner of games, including SoulCalibur; Mortal Kombat; ModNation Racers; and was even parodied in The Simpsons.

The early 2010s proved to be a difficult time for the God of War however, with 2013’s Ascension not only being the game’s lowest rated entry, but also by far the worst-selling. All this changed however with the reinvention of Kratos, the genre, and God of War as a whole in 2018 following the release of the franchise’s soft-reboot.

Managing a 94 on Metacritic, winning more than 250 Game of the Year awards and selling just shy of 20 million copies on PlayStation, the God of War franchise is bigger and better than ever before. It is therefore interesting to see Sony bringing the game to PC.

Horizon Zero Dawn coming to PC in 2020 was a massive deal. We had seen Death Stranding come to the platform earlier that same year, however unlike Horizon, Death Stranding was developed by an independent studio (Kojima Productions) in collaboration with PlayStation. Furthermore, this wasn’t even being published by Sony on PC, but instead 505 Games.

Horizon Zero Dawn on the other hand was developed by Guerilla Games: a first-party PlayStation studio, and published by PlayStation themselves. This was a massive deal, as following its original 2017 release, Horizon quickly rose in the ranks to become a known and successful PlayStation IP. Still, this was their first game in a brand new franchise, and so as popular as Aloy had become, the IP was not yet quite at the level of other classic PlayStation franchises.

Likewise, the release of Days Gone made even more sense. It was a new IP which saw mixed reviews on PlayStation, however developed a cult following by the fans. This word of mouth (and many patches from developer Sony Bend) helped to raise the reputation of this scorned title. Bringing it to PC was a prime opportunity for the game to get some more sales, bringing it up to the standard of other first-party PlayStation games. It was largely forgotten on PS4, and so it was brought to PC to find a new lease on life.

So far we have seen the first entries of two new IPs brought over from PlayStation to PC. Next however, Sony announced that both Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy were coming to PC via the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection in early 2022. Uncharted is a quintessential PlayStation franchise, with Nathan Drake serving as the face of PlayStation for many years. Uncharted 4 also saw the conclusion of the Nathan Drake quadrilogy – though it very much can stand on its own.

Uncharted coming to PC may have been shocking initially, however when you consider the fact that the franchise itself is laying dormant, with no new entries in sight, it makes some sense that Sony would bring these inactive games to PC – especially as Uncharted 4 is more than half a decade old.

God of War 2018 is where Sony really opened the floodgates however. Upon its release in 2018, the soft-reboot was met with hundreds of awards and near unanimous praise, with the game being seen as a system-seller. And sell it did, as the game managed to push just shy of 20 million copies in 3 years. Since its release, Kratos has appeared in Fortnite, he has taken centre stage in many of PlayStation’s ad campaigns and an entire documentary was filmed tracking the development of the game. God of War’s return was a moment, a moment which culminated in over 250 Game of the Year awards. Sony has no reason to bring it to PC. The IP is healthy and alive; the game sold amazingly on PS4 alone; and its status as an exclusive helps to push PlayStation as a premium brand with must-have games. And yet, God of War is coming to PC.

It is at this point that I must stress that I am all for God of War coming to PC. Heck, Sony should bring every exclusive game to the platform. Not only so that more people can play these excellent games, but also for the sake of preservation. There are so many PS3 games locked to the system, running at 720p and sub 30fps. Bringing a game to PC simply offers greater tools and freedoms which can allow for preservation. But game preservation is of no concern to Sony. In fact, we have seen companies benefit greatly from doing just the opposite. Nintendo making Super Mario 3D All-Stars a limited timed release only helped to ensure huge sales for the software – and you can bet your bottom dollar that if they ever were to bring it out of the vault that it would sell millions more.

All of this is to say that Sony has no real long-term incentive to release God of War on PC, and so the fact that it is coming is not only a welcome surprise, but proof that the floodgates have now been opened, and you can expect many many more first-party games to make their way to PC.

While I highly doubt we will ever see these games launch day-and-date on PC, following the release of God of War and Uncharted, expect to hear about other PlayStation games making their way to PC. I for one can’t wait for The Last of Us Parts I and II to come to the platform. The floodgates are open, and I'm excited to see what will be flowing in.

KitGuru says: Do you expect all PlayStation games to make their way to PC eventually? Which game do you want to see ported next? Why do you think Sony is finally doing this? Let us know down below.

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