Earlier this week, Sony announced thatHorizon Zero Dawnwould be making its way to PC sometime this summer. The news was especially surprising, even with the leaks that occurred in the months leading up to the announcement. The reason being thatHorizon Zero Dawnwas developed by Guerrilla Games, which is a first-party studio under the Sony Interactive Entertainment umbrella of game development studios, and games in this category have never been released on a platform that wasn’t called PlayStation before. As upset as some fans may seem online over the matter, there are many reasons why this port is ultimately a benign one.
However, even with the shock that a Sony first-party game is coming to PC, especially one as big asHorizon Zero Dawn,none of this is to say that Sony branded games are entirely foreign to the platform. The console maker actually has an extensive history with PC (besides the obvious fact that it used to make PCs up until 2014). Additionally, it’s a little peculiar to be angry over a PC port of any console game because, at the end of the day, Sony doesn’t see the platform as a source of competition to begin with.
Sony Games on PC
As previously mentioned, Sony’s history with PC games goes back way before this new port ofHorizon Zero Dawn.But a good number of games have been published by Sony in the near past too, only to later come to PC. 2012’sJourneywas one of the PS3’s most critically acclaimed games, and it came to PC (and iOS) just last year. Even though Sony didn’t publish the game outside of PlayStation platforms, this port didn’t harm or hinder any aspect of PlayStation’s business. In fact, the port only allowed a larger audience to play a game that many consider to be a magical experience.
Looking at PC games that were published by Sony, one can find a handful of titles that were actually released fairly recently such asHelldiversandGuns Up!.Although neither title is as big asHorizon Zero Dawn,the existence of these games on PC under Sony’s name is more than enough of a solid precedent for future Sony-published titles to appear on the platform too. Going further than that,Everybody’s Gone to the Rapturewas a game that was not only published by Sony on both PlayStation and PC platforms, but was also co-developed by Sony Santa Monica Studio (and The Chinese Room), which set an even bigger precedent for PlayStation exclusives to come to PC.
The Past and Future of Sony Games
Sony does indeed have a recent history of publishing games on PC but some tend to forget that the company actually founded an entire studio dedicated to PC gaming. Sony Online Entertainment was a PC-focused studio and was part of Sony WorldWide Studios. It was mainly known for developing MMORPGs such asEverQuest, PlanetSide,andDC Universe Online.While these franchises did come to PlayStation at some point or another, people mainly associate them with PC. SOE eventually broke off from Sony and reformed itself as Daybreak Game Company in 2015 but the history doesn’t change - Sony was heavily involved in PC gaming.
It seems that even after the spinning off SOE, Sony still can’t stay away from the platform, with the PC port ofHorizon Zero Dawnjust being the latest bit of evidence behind that notion. This is ultimately a good thing for Sony, for its consumers, and for the gaming industry as a whole. For one, more people will get the opportunity to enjoy some great games that would be otherwise locked off (as popular as the PS4 is, more people have PCs). Guerrilla Games also gets the chance to learn from this port and take that experience into its next game.
The more people that play a game, the healthier the industry becomes for any number of reasons. Think about a scenario in which an aspiring game developer is finally able to play Horizon Zero Dawn because they have a PC and no PS4. What if that’s the game that gives this person the inspiration to create something beautiful? Whether or not this person goes on to make the nextLegend of Zelda,ifHorizon Zero Dawncan make such an impression as to inspire others, then a port is more than worth it.
Horizon Zero Dawnis available now on PS4, with a PC release coming this summer.
