Recent PlayStation PC Ports Have Been Underwhelming On Steam

First-party titles from PlayStation have found new life on the PC platform. With releases like God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man, the console giant has been able to emulate some of its success on a new platform, introducing more players to these beloved games. 

Since last year, PlayStation has steadily released more games on the platform. Games from franchises like Uncharted are now available on PC, and even the PlayStation 5 exclusive Returnal has made its way onto PC.

Despite the initial momentum, recent PC ports from PlayStation have performed poorly.

The latest release, Returnal, saw less than 6000 concurrent players on Steam. Returnal launched with everything that PC players seek in a competent release, yet it could not appeal to many players.

Unlike Returnal, Spider-Man: Miles Morales has sold millions of copies on the PlayStation consoles. It had the advantage of Spider-Man’s popularity across various forms of media, and the previous Spider-Man release also performed well on PC.

Despite these factors, Spider-Man: Miles Morales fell short of expectations, with less than half of Marvel’s Spider-Man’s Steam concurrent Steam counts. This difference between the two Spider-Man games could be attributed to the smaller scaled adventure of Miles Morales and the asking price on Steam. 

Sackboy: A Big Adventure recently became the gaming giant’s worst PC launch. It could not bring many new players to the franchise, but this was not surprising considering Sackboy’s limited popularity in recent years. 

However, the flagship Uncharted franchise also failed to make a significant mark on the PC gaming industry. Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy saw praise from critics and fans on the PlayStation console, and many have considered them system sellers for PlayStation. Yet, this success did not carry over to PC.

Returnal marks four PlayStation releases that have failed to live up to the standard established by games like Marvel’s Spider-Man and God of War. Previously, Sony confirmed that Spider-Man became the fastest-selling PlayStation game on PC, but it is difficult to see any recent releases following in its footsteps. 

However, there is still hope for the future. The critically acclaimed Last of Us franchise is making its way to PC soon with The Last of Us Part 1 on March 28. Given the recent success of the TV adaptation and the franchise’s influence, The Last of Us Part 1 has the potential to become the best-selling PlayStation game on the platform. 

PlayStation may also experiment with a few day-one releases on PC. This strategy, coupled with the upcoming releases, could help PlayStation bounce back from the lukewarm reception of recent ports.

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