Multiplayer PlayStation games may come to PC and other devices says Sony's Shawn Layden

By Asher Madan
published

What you need to know

  • Sony wants its titles to reach more gamers.
  • In a recent interview, the company's Shawn Layden said select titles could be broader distribution.
  • Layden focused on PC during the interview.
  • It's unclear when select titles, if ever, will show up on other platforms.

Today, Sony announced that it was acquiring Insomniac Games. The developer has worked on a lot of PlayStation-exclusive games in the past, so it seems like a great fit. However, it seems like the company has larger ambitions going forward. According to a report by Bloomberg, Sony may produce multiplatform games soon.

The outlet said the following when discussing an interview with Sony's Shawn Layden. If the company works on a multiplayer game, it may come to PC or other devices. There isn't a set rule.

In an interview, Shawn Layden, chairman of Sony's game studios worldwide, said exclusive titles will still be a part of the company's strategy, but that some games — particularly multiplayer titles designed to be played on personal computers — may see broader distribution. 'We must support the PlayStation platform — that is non-negotiable,' Layden said. 'That said, you will see in the future some titles coming out of my collection of studios which may need to lean into a wider installed base.'

Considering that Sony focuses on single-player titles, it might be a while before we see a multiplayer experience from the company. There seems to be a broader shift in the way Sony makes games because titles like Fortnite are impact game sales across the board.

MLB: The Show is a popular baseball simulator that would fit right at home on PC and other platforms. Hopefully, the team will consider bringing existing franchises to PC and other devices because the future of gaming revolves around being able to play your game on any device, anywhere.

Asher Madan
Asher Madan
2 Comments
  • I would love to play the Spiderman game but have no PS4. I am also not willing to spend hundreds of dollars for one game. I would, however, give Sony my money if they released the game on PC.
  • So would I, but I strongly doubt it. I think it's more likely that they'll use expensive, hard-fought licenses such as Spider-Man to sell PS consoles. I reckon it's the studio's own original IPs (Sunset Overdrive-esque ventures) that can benefit from the multiplatform push. Think of SO itself, in fact: that game didn't sell well on XBox, and can't have inspired a single person to buy XB, and therefore it had a small market that couldn't grow. I don't think that's a uniquely XB problem; the same thing would likely have happened on PS. But it got a surprising bump on PC years later, so it would make sense to throw the net wide on launch with this kind of game in future. Unfortunately for us, Spider-Man doesn't have that problem.