The future excluded PS5 available at the same time on PC? This will be the case for the next title The Last of Us, but for other games, it’s more complicated than that, as explained by the boss of PlayStation Studios.
We continue to learn more about the overall strategy of Sony Interactive Entertainment through Hermen Hulst, boss of PlayStation Studios. And in particular on possible simultaneous launches of PS5 games on PC. So, yes / no? Yes, but…
The Last of Us and PS5 day one service games on PC
In an interview with YouTuber Julien Chièze, PlayStation Studios boss Hermen Hulst said there would be at least a year between the release of an exclusive on PS5 and its arrival on PC. But if this is true for titles like God of War Ragnarok, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 or Marvel’s Wolverine, it is very different for service games like the next The Last of Us Factions.
For him and other productions of this type, we seem to be heading towards simultaneous launches. A change that is justified by the need to have a strong community and engagement right out of the gate.
That’s a good question Julian. First of all, the PlayStation will remain the best place to play. As PlayStation Studios, we have a symbiotic relationship with the console. Our developers are often the first to try out new hardware, new controllers. It’s a real pride and we take to heart to represent the developer community within Sony. I think it’s really good for teams to see their games released on PC, often with the help of Dutch studio Nixxes which we recently acquired. There are more players and that helps.
I think that in the future we will see at least a year between the release of one of our games on PlayStation console, then on PC, probably with the exception of service games. These live games are a bit different in nature because you need a strong community, a lot of engagement right from the start, right from launch. So for this type of games, we could do simultaneous releases between PC and PlayStation.
Hermen Hulst, boss of PlayStation Studios, via Julien Chièze.
The multi of TLOU without Joel and Ellie
The Last of Us Factions is a stand-alone multiplayer game – there will be no need for The Last of Us 2 to play it – which will not feature Joel and Ellie but will instead rely on new characters. Will Naughty Dog’s storytelling expertise be used? We ask ourselves the question.
Given that it is a service game that must fill its servers quickly, it is also not unthinkable to say that a PS4 version is planned. Because for the moment, Sony does not want to store its console in the closet and multiplayer should have arrived with The Last of Us Part II, a PlayStation 4 title at the base. Also if Naughty Dog will opt for a free-to-play model to maximize their chances even more, or if it will be a premium model at a lower cost.