Horizon: Zero Dawn is coming to PC this year – How does this affect Sony?

Critically acclaimed PlayStation 4 exclusive Horizon: Zero Dawn is apparently joining the #PCMasterRace trend, according to Kotaku‘s report. Sony did not respond to these claims as of now.

It’s still interesting to think about these topics as it might set a precedent for more titles to be ported to PC down the line. That is why even the rumour of Horizon: Zero Dawn being ported to PC is such a big deal.

Robot Dinosaur Killer has joined the server

Horizon: Zero Dawn is an open-world game set in the post-apocalyptic United States with dinosaur-like robots known as “machines” dominate across most parts of the Earth all the while a strange phenomenon causes them to threaten the existence of humans and need to be stopped. The developer behind the success hit, Guerrilla Games is owned and run by Sony.

As part of the usual tradition of Sony-published games, it was exclusive to the PlayStation platform. Just like other PlayStation exclusive titles like God of War and Ratchet & Clank.

Why? Well, think of it this way. These are great games that you need to buy the hardware (PlayStation console) and software (the game itself) from Sony. Generating revenues on both software and hardware at once is one of the best ways to stand firm in the gaming market. Sony also has PS4 sales surpassing 102 million units in 2019.

But since many people are looking to play these Sony-exclusive titles but don’t plan to own a PS4, Sony can tap into that market as well.

What is in Sony’s mind?

A common practice for developers to extract or reinstate value from their titles is to release them onto other platforms, provided that the porting costs are justified and revenue can be generated from the group of players that have missed out during the initial release and of course collectors (we are looking at you Skyrim and Resident Evil 4). Think of it as a timed-exclusive kind of situation, like Red Dead Redemption 2 and also Death Stranding.

It is reasonable to think that as the PlayStation 4 has entered the end of the product life cycle slowly, Sony could take a bet on the PC market to anticipate sales performance and player feedback with one of the best IPs in their disposal.

If they are able to get good figures and data from this little experiment, it could spell more possible ports in the future. With the PlayStation 5 slated to come out around the end of this year, it would be the perfect time during the transition period to venture into new territory.

Another aspect is the streaming service PlayStation Now that allows PC users to play PlayStation exclusives through their online service and with the recent price slashes and more titles coming to the service, it seems that Sony is also trying to combat the growing competitions and potentially from Google Stadia.

As one of the big players in the home console market, Sony would rather have players stick to their own services if game-streaming becomes commonplace.

What we’re excited for

With Death Stranding and potentially Horizon: Zero Dawn coming to PC this year and the ability of the Decima Engine which both games are developed with showing off top-of-the-line graphics on a console, it will be interesting on how both titles would run on the PC platform, especially optimizations for mid-range specs.

Ultimately, PC’s hardware gets updated with better performance much quicker compared to home consoles. So, it’s no surprise that these titles that are heading to PCs can potentially look much better and different than the console counterparts, perhaps with new content too. Then it can set a precedent for more PS4-exclusives to be ported to PC.