Former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios Shawn Layden reflected on the alleged change in Sony's strategy towards the PC platform, stating that he sees no point in abandoning later PC releases of PlayStation exclusives.
Layden, who left Sony in 2019, was one of the people responsible for the decision to start releasing PlayStation titles on PC. The first major step in that direction was the release of Horizon Zero Dawn for computers, followed by numerous other Sony hits.
Speaking on the PSI podcast, Layden emphasized that he never believed that the late arrival of games on PC could negatively impact the sales of PlayStation consoles.
"If a game arrives on PC 18 months after its release on PlayStation, it's hard for me to believe that it prevented anyone from buying the console a year and a half earlier. I would love to see evidence for such a claim," said Layden.
In his opinion, players who are willing to wait a year or two for the PC version probably never planned to buy a PlayStation console in the first place. Layden believes that the main goal of releasing PlayStation games on PC has always been something entirely different – increasing the recognition of Sony's franchises. As he explains, by expanding games to a new audience, Sony was creating a larger fan base, which benefited other forms of entertainment in the long run, such as movies, TV series, comics, and various products based on those brands.
"The idea was not to make extra money by selling PC versions, but to allow as many people as possible to get to know our worlds and characters," he added.
Although Layden did not want to speculate on why Sony is allegedly changing its strategy, he believes that one possible reason could be the additional development work and resources needed to create quality PC ports.
In recent months, numerous unofficial reports have emerged suggesting that Sony Interactive Entertainment may slow down or even temporarily halt the release of its exclusives on PC. However, the company has not officially confirmed such a change in strategy, so all information about a possible abandonment of PC ports should still be regarded as unverified rumors.
Regardless of Sony's future direction, Layden's statements have reopened the debate on whether PlayStation exclusives should remain tied exclusively to the console or if the later arrival on PC represents an opportunity for additional growth and expansion of the most important PlayStation franchises.
-hero.webp)
