The logo for the next Xbox, Project Helix.
Microsoft/Xbox
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Sony is looking to pull away its single-player, first-party PlayStation games away from Steam and the PC platform. That means upcoming ones like Insomniac’s Wolverine and Housemarque’s Saros have reportedly had their PC port plans canceled. However, multiplayer games like Helldivers 2 seemingly won’t be impacted since they need as wide of an audience as possible to keep them sustainable.
But why is Sony doing this? We’ve speculated that part of it is because Sony’s games on Steam don’t have that high of a concurrent player count. It’s also possible that Sony wants to avoid damaging its own brand, with players simply just waiting for some of its games to hit PC rather than buying a PlayStation console and playing them on there.
But I think the real reason why Sony is possibly slowing down its PC effort is because of its direct competition: Microsoft and Xbox. Microsoft recently revealed its next-gen console initiative, Project Helix.
The newly appointed Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma said on Twitter, “Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and stu
dios at my first GDC next week!”
The logo for the next Xbox, Project Helix.
Microsoft/Xbox
You read that correctly. Xbox and PC games. There’s been rumors about the next Xbox that it’s basically just some sort console and PC hybrid. Additionally, it’s reportedly going to be an incredibly open platform, with the ability to access other digital storefronts like Steam, Epic Games, and more.
That therein lies the problem. If this is true, that means you can technically play PlayStation’s single-player exclusives on Xbox through Steam and Epic Games. After all, games like Horizon Forbidden West, God of War Ragnarok, and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are on there.
As such, Sony doesn’t want to see people playing its latest and greatest games on an Xbox console because, understandably, that would undermine the value of a PlayStation one.
Perhaps PlayStation feels threatened by Xbox in this regard. After all, Xbox has been feeding its competitors plenty of high-profile first-party Xbox games like Avowed, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Doom: The Dark Ages. Along with the “This is an Xbox” initiative, these moves have diluted Xbox as a brand. Nobody knows what Xbox is anymore. What’s the point of creating hardware if there’s no compelling exclusive content on it?
Both Sony and Nintendo understand this, and that’s why the former is likely going to keep its upcoming single-player games off of PC going forward.
