In many ways, the arrival of Santa Monica Studio’s God of War on PC was almost guaranteed from the moment the publisher set its sights on the platform. Cory Barlog’s teasing tweets that gave his seal of approval to the idea several years ago further added to an overall sense of inevitability on the subject. While no title is presumably off the table completely when it comes to receiving the port treatment, there are still a few examples from within PlayStation’s first party stable that are less likely to make their way over than others.
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Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
If the recent Nvidia database leak is to be believed, PlayStation exclusives built specifically for the PS5 won’t be exempt from receiving the PC port treatment. So far the leak has accurately preemptively revealed a number of announcements like the God of War re-release, which means all manner of games like Demon’s Souls and Returnal could be set to arrive on the platform at some point in the near future. This, however, doesn’t guarantee that every game from the console’s fledgling library will be able to land on PC straight away, due to some technical design quirks within the PS5’s hardware.
Since the announcement of the PS5, Sony has actively promoted the SSD technology that’s helped make its newest console so much faster than its predecessor. Software like Insomniac Games’ Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and its brilliant dimension hopping antics, have subsequently been built specifically around the PS5’s fast loading capabilities. When it comes to ports of games like this, the fact that comparative mainstream PC SSDs aren’t as affordable or in widespread usage yet could be an issue that prevents Ratchet and Clank from setting a course for the platform. What could be telling is the fact that within the Nvidia leak, an entry for the duo’s 2016 PS4 reboot exists instead of their latest adventure, suggesting it could be used to tide PC players over for some time.
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The Last of Us Series
Naughty Dog’s beloved post-apocalyptic The Last of Us series is set to be in the news over the next few years, for a number of important reasons. Between the promising upcoming HBO live-action adaptation, the expanded Factions multiplayer game, and recurring rumors that a remake of the original game is in the works, there’s going to be plenty of content for fans to consume across multiple mediums. Sadly, this trio of releases could potentially come together to make PC ports of the franchise’s single-player games difficult.
With a modernizing remake of the first The Last of Us having been leaked by several credible sources, there’s a chance that Sony won’t want to promote the release of a port of the original incarnation within close proximity to its shiny new entry. That seems especially so considering the mod potential that’s an inherent part of PC gaming. From a franchise building perspective, alternatively releasing The Last of Us 2 first on PC, without the opening chapters of Ellie and Joel’s stories, would be rather counterproductive as well. While it can be argued that 2018’s God of War is technically the 7th installment in Kratos’ life, it’s status as a soft-reboot, alongside the presence of Atreus, makes it far easier for new fans to jump into the story.
One potential way that The Last of Us could still make its way to PC sooner though, is through the release of the Factions multiplayer game. Building an audience for any online game is vital to its longevity and success, especially if it doesn’t happen to launch as a microtransaction-backed free-to-play title. Even though the PS4 and PS5 collectively have an impressive number of players for Naughty Dog to promote their game to, that are already likely onboard with the series, the simultaneous release of Factions on PC sounds like a smart decision that would help it establish a player base rapidly.
Marvel’s Spider-Man
Since joining Sony’s first party family in 2019, Insomniac Games has established a reputation for being able to quickly develop games, without there being any dip in their overall exceptional quality. One of the studio’s franchises that’s captivated PlayStation players on PS4 and PS5 during that time, is its faithful yet unique take on Marvel’s legendary Spider-Man. As it stands right now though, it’s looking unlikely that New York’s superhero will be swinging his way to PC in the foreseeable future. Having announced that it’s currently working on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Marvel’s Wolverine, and a seemingly unannounced multiplayer project, the studio’s development bandwidth is likely already being stretched as far as Sony is willing to push things, for now.
While it’s true that the PlayStation first party PC ports have so far been handled exclusively by external development teams, such as Iron Galaxy Studios and Jetpack Interactive, Insomniac’s independent past suggests there’s a chance it would rather work on any port itself. Of all of Sony’s internal teams, the studio is the one that’s had the most experience working on the platform recently. There’s also only so many studios out there that can work on high profile ports like a PC version of Marvel’s Spider-Man, as its dense open-world would be tough to work with. Licensing issues with Disney could also theoretically be the biggest obstacle for a PC port of either installment in the series, as the platform likely wasn’t a factor in Sony’s plans when a deal was first penned.
Most Pre-PS4 Exclusives
Even though Sony’s commitment to backwards compatibility has improved to an extent in recent years, there’s still a noticeable gap between its efforts and those of some of its nearest competitors. With the vast majority of the publisher’s pre-PS4 back catalogue currently unplayable natively on either of its modern consoles, it’s hard to envision any of these games making their way to PC anytime soon. Considering Sony has also invested more resources recently into its PS Now subscription service, which can be accessed on the platform, it seems much more likely that it will continue to promote that service over the creation of ports. If any of Sony’s historic IPs do end up getting the remake or remaster glow-up treatment for the PS4 or PS5, though, this could of course change quite quickly.
God of War releases for PC on January 14, 2022.
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