Sony Releasing PlayStation Games on PC Has Paid Off in a Big Way

PlayStation has made an estimated $1.2 billion from selling its games on Steam, according to a new report. Console exclusivity appears to be slowly fading away, with both Sony and Microsoft steadily releasing more of their games on competing platforms. While opinions differ on how this shift could impact these companies and the broader gaming industry, it’s been a big boon for PlayStation so far.

While Sony has not leaned into multiplatform releases quite as heavily as Xbox, PC launches have become a significant part of its overall strategy. CEO Herman Hulst has said the company uses PC ports of games like God of War to draw people to the PS5 while simultaneous PC and PlayStation launches of live-service games maximize their player base. The success of titles like Helldivers 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn on PC seems to confirm that this strategy is working, and newly published sales figures back it up further.

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PlayStation Games Have Made $1.5 Billion in Revenue on Steam

A November 21 report from Alinea Analytics estimates that Sony has generated over $1.5 billion in gross revenue by releasing PlayStation games on Steam. After accounting for the cut Valve takes from game sales on its platform, that means Sony has made a profit of roughly $1.2 billion off its PC releases. Helldivers 2 leads the pack in terms of PlayStation’s top performers on Steam, generating a whopping $400 million in revenue. That may not be surprising, considering that Helldivers 2 sold over 12 million copies across both PS5 and PC in just 12 weeks, cementing it as Sony’s fastest-selling title to date. Interestingly, Sony’s other best-selling games on Steam are not live-service titles like Helldivers, with Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, Days Gone, and Spider-Man making up the rest of the top five.

Sony isn’t the only company to earn a hefty paycheck from expanding former exclusives to more platforms. Xbox-published Forza Horizon 5 made $100 million in revenue from PS5 sales, and as of late 2024, PlayStation users accounted for 64% of all spending on Microsoft titles. While console sales may be wavering across the board, numbers like these make it easy to see why Sony and Xbox have taken a liking to multiplatform releases.

Despite this success, it’s rumored that PlayStation may be “pulling back” from PC releases for its biggest single-player franchises. The Alinea Analytics report may offer some insight into that decision, revealing that sequels have not performed as well on Steam as the games that first brought a series to the platform. God of War Ragnarok sold fewer than half as many copies as God of War on PC, and the Steam port of Spider-Man 2 likewise sold half as well as the first Spider-Man. Still, regardless of what Sony does in the future, its PC strategy has been successful so far.

Date Founded

May 7, 1946

Headquarters

Minato City, Tokyo, Japan

Source: Alinea Analytics