After the recent release of Spider-Man Remastered on PC, some files found within the game’s installation suggest that Sony might be planning on releasing a PlayStation Launcher for PC, as identified by VGC.
Sony seems to be making it a priority to release games on PC that were previously PS4/PS5 exclusive. The finding came soon after discovering that Sony might be allowing PlayStation Network access through PC games.
While none of the games ported to PC have PSN connectivity, including Spider-Man Remastered, the game includes multiple references to “PSNAccountLinked” and “PSNLinkingEntitlements.”
Every game Sony has ported onto PC so far has been on either Steam or Epic. Even though Sony has its own PC branding, there is no PlayStation or Sony platform for buying or playing games, at least not yet.
Benefits of a PlayStation Launcher
This does suggest the possibility that in the future, Sony might have a dedicated PlayStation Launcher for PC. A place to not only buy and launch games, but “PSNAccountLinked” suggests the ability to cross-buy games with PC. This would be a very welcome change for people who own both a PS5 and a PC, as it would alleviate all the double purchase concerns people have had over the years.
It is very likely that games will not be exclusive to the PlayStation Launcher, just like Xbox. Xbox launches games on the Microsoft store, but Steam as well.
Some publishers do require a specific launcher for their games as a method of verification, like Rockstar. Hopefully, Sony doesn’t implement something like that when porting games to the PlayStation Launcher.
CEO of Sony, Jim Ryan, said that PlayStation plans on bringing “a whole slate” of games to PC. Spider-Man Remastered is the sixth Sony exclusive to be ported to PC. With Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection making their way to PC later this year.