$300 million is still not enough? Is the PlayStation PC business really that unattractive?

To begin, here’s a small detail that really surprised me: in the three years PlayStation has been on PC, it used a more aggressive discounting strategy to push revenue up by over 25%. It sounds like some indie developer suddenly mastered Steam’s discount rhythm, only to find that sales are only a bit better than before.

On this topic, the key actually boils down to two sets of numbers. Former PlayStation PC business planning manager Jerry Liu mentioned on LinkedIn that he built PlayStation’s PC segment from zero to a cumulative net revenue of about $300 million over three years. In the same period, the console side generated about $303 million in software revenue in just 2021 alone, and around $264 million and $286 million in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Put simply, the results PC has achieved over three years roughly equal the firepower of one year on console. The gap feels a bit like a one-person Stardew Valley farm standing across from Genshin Impact’s all-platform gold mine.

What’s interesting is that on console, PlayStation has always stuck to a “prices stay firm, barely any discounts” style, yet the returns are actually higher. On PC, they tried to lower their stance—discounts, launching on more platforms, drawing in new players—and still only made $300 million in net income over three years. Compared with their dominant strategy in the console ecosystem—“if you want to play God of War or Horizon, you have to come to us”—their PC approach feels more like: the tactics are right, but the terrain is unfavorable. The ideas are there, but when it comes to execution in the money-making phase, it’s nowhere near as pretty.

From the perspective of an indie game fan, this whole thing is actually quite subtle. Over half of my Steam library is mid- to small-scale titles like Celeste and Dead Cells, where a few dozen yuan lets you experience a finely polished core idea. Meanwhile, PlayStation has brought a pile of AAA blockbusters to PC, but with high price tags and discounts that don’t quite reach “impulse buy” levels. If you ask me to choose between the 100+ yuan PC version of Ghost of Tsushima and a bunch of excellent indies under 60, there’s a good chance I’ll still go try a few new ideas. After all, that kind of magical chemistry you get when something like Undertale meets Celeste is much more likely to spark my curiosity.

Unfortunately, based on the data revealed this time, it seems Sony’s higher-ups have reached this conclusion: PC isn’t that lucrative yet; consoles and core AAA content offer more stable returns, so resources should continue to be piled into the console ecosystem. The report also mentioned that some foreign media writing about this used a slightly snarky tone, as if saying, “See? Going to PC doesn’t really make much money.” For PC players, that conclusion is inevitably a bit disappointing. People had been hoping for more and more PS exclusives to be unlocked, but now it’s very likely the pace will slow down, and PC may just be treated as a side platform for ports.

If you’re a PC player, how should you respond to this trend? My own suggestion is this: don’t treat PlayStation on PC as a “platform shift,” treat it as an extra option. Approach it with the same mindset you have for Hollow Knight: Silksong—if it shows up, it’s a pleasant surprise; if it comes later, just keep playing all those small but refined titles you already have. Given the current numbers, Sony is very likely to keep pouring more resources into the console side, and the pace of new releases on PC won’t be particularly fast. Instead of staring at AAA port dates and feeling anxious, you might as well dig into your wishlist. The next game that really makes your eyes light up might actually be a tiny pixel art piece with a budget equal to just one of those AAA opening CGs.