Helldivers 2 has probably become one of the most successful titles on PlayStation. This game has redefined the genre of live service titles. And to carry forward this huge success, the soon-to-be co-CEO of Sony’s PlayStation Business, Hurmen Hulst, has some new strategies.
After the legendary tenure of Jim Ryan, now it’s time for Herman Hulst and Hideaki Nishino to put their feet in the CEO’s shoes. One of these co-CEOs has already got plans, both for live service titles and single-player narrative games, with which PC players might get a bit upset.
Live Service Titles to be Released on PlayStation and PC Simultaneously
During a PlayStation business briefing on Thursday, both the upcoming co-CEOs discussed their strategies regarding Sony Interactive Entertainment. Helldivers 2 has been a huge success for this gaming platform. To ensure the success of live service titles, games of these genres from now on will launch “day and date” on PC alongside PS5. In that briefing, Hulst clarified the company’s approach to keeping live service a top priority.
Hermen Hulst, soon to be co-CEO of Sony's PlayStation business, addresses day 1 PC releases. Live service games will come day and date on PS5 and PC, but single player narrative games on PC are designed to then entice PC owners to play sequels on a PlayStation console pic.twitter.com/uAO0stlBS6
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) May 29, 2024
This strategy was first revealed in 2022, and with this strategy, people might cut down on the exclusivity idea of the console company. However, this unique strategy went the other way around and carved out a significant amount of growth and success.
PlayStation first launched a title on PC in 2020, when Horizon Zero Dawn PC port came in. Initially, the game faced several criticisms regarding some technical issues, but after consistent patch updates, the game well and truly became optimized for PC. And now, after four years, PlayStation’s PC library has filled up with some real successes.
Single-player PlayStation Titles Will Release Later on PC
On the other hand, for single-player narratives, Hulst has a different approach. Unlike liver service titles, the soo to become CEO has announced that the single-player story mode titles will launch on PC at a later date after being launched on the console. They have cited that this is a strategy to bring more people into the console itself.
Hulst stated:
But with our tentpole titles, our single-player narrative-driven titles that [are] the backbone of what PlayStation Studios has delivered in recent years and in our history, we take a more strategic approach and introduce our great franchises to new audiences, and we’re finding new audiences that are potentially going to be very interested in playing, for example, sequels, on the PlayStation platform. We have high hopes that we are actually able to bring new players into PlayStation at large, but into PlayStation platforms specifically.
So, the people who have tried out a PlayStation first-party single-player title on the console or PC, whatever, will have their eyes on the sequel to that game. Now, according to this strategy of Hulst, if the sequel comes to the console, leaving behind PC for a later release, then there are high chances fans will jump into buying PS5s to try out that sequel.
What’s your take on these decisions from PlayStation? Let us know in the comment section.
