Sales of PS5 exclusive games on PC may have struggled because Sony delayed release dates

Speculation continues about why Sony may cut back on single-player PC ports. One popular theory is that former PS4 and PS5 exclusive games didn’t attract as large of an audience as expected. A Newzoo study suggests that the lack of simultaneous console and PC launches was a major factor.

How poorly did PlayStation PC ports perform?

The analysis discussed at GamesIndustry.biz found that PC players were vastly outnumbered by console counterparts in several PlayStation titles. For the first three months after release, Steam and Epic Games Store users only represented 13% of a game’s total audience. Yet, with AAA games from other publishers that debuted on multiple platforms, that number was a much higher 44%.

The same trend emerged regardless of whether the game was a third or first-party PlayStation exclusive. Newzoo believes that desktop and laptop gamers anticipate SIE titles, but that interest wanes the longer they wait.

Earlier ports had more success, with the 2020 Horizon Zero Dawn registering a 22% share of PC players. God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man also enticed a decent number of gaming PC owners. Yet, the God of War Ragnarok and Spider-Man 2 sequels did not enjoy the same level of support. Still, unfamiliar IPs performed better in recent years, as seen with Ghost of Tsushima in 2024.

Different approaches to single and multiplayer PS5 games

Helldivers 2 was by far the most popular PlayStation exclusive to come to the platform. November 2025 data from Alinea Analytics showed that it accounted for 12.7 million of the 43 million copies of the Sony-published titles sold on Steam. The company has been more anxious to port live-service titles. Unfortunately, Newzoo didn’t distinguish between single and multiplayer candidates.

As part of its cross-platform strategy, Sony was unwilling to commit to day-one releases for narrative-driven projects. SIE CEO Hermen Hulst previously revealed that it would keep these PS5 exclusive games on the console for longer. With Marathon as another example, live-service titles seem set to remain an exception.

Hulst explained that the company wants to preserve incentives to purchase its hardware. That likely won’t change as it looks to find buyers for the PS6. Given Valve’s revenue cut, the lackluster sales may not justify the expense of porting Ghost of Yōtei or Marvel’s Wolverine.