PlayStation owners alone can no longer satisfy Sony’s needs

Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan is looking to create an open relationship between PlayStation games and PlayStation fans. That started with games like Horizon Zero Dawn making the move from PS4 to PC, and now the company is continuing this with Days Gone.

In an interview with British GQ, Ryan said the open-world zombie adventure is heading to PC this spring. This will give more people the chance to try the game, and for Sony, that is exactly the point.

“We find ourselves now in early 2021 with our development studios and the games that they make in better shape than they’ve ever been before,” said Ryan. “Particularly from the latter half of the PS4 cycle our studios made some wonderful, great games. There’s an opportunity to expose those great games to a wider audience and recognize the economics of game development, which are not always straightforward.”

Surprise. #DaysGone comes to PC this spring. Stay tuned for more details. pic.twitter.com/vcSYSKgOtn

— Bend Studio #DaysGone (@BendStudio) February 23, 2021

SIE makes massive, polished games with gigantic budgets. Something like Days Gone likely requires tens of millions of dollars (if not hundreds of millions of dollars) to release. And putting it on PC can help Sony improve the profitability of its software — especially since PS4 and PS5 both run on what is fundamentally PC architecture.

“The cost of making games goes up with each cycle, as the calibre of the IP has improved,” said Ryan. “Also, our ease of making it available to non-console owners has grown. So it’s a fairly straightforward decision for us to make.”

Does this mean that Spider-Man, God of War, and Bloodborne are coming to PC next? Possibly — although Ryan didn’t say anything about those games specifically. But Sony seems less willing than ever to leave PC gaming money on the table.