Three long years since its release on the PS4, Horizon Zero Dawn is officially coming to PC. This unexpected port marks a major shift in Sony’s approach to its first-party exclusives, and it may be a signal of more PlayStation exclusive titles getting PC releases in the future.
Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games’s surprise hit post-Killzone, was a smashing critical success when it launched in early 2017, and a similarly warm player response earned it a place among the best-selling PS4 games of all time. Like every blockbuster title Sony has developed and published in-house since the days of the PS1, it has remained exclusively on PlayStation brand consoles alongside the likes of Uncharted and God of War. However, rumors about Horizon Zero Dawn coming to the PC began to surface in late 2019, suggesting the game would receive a PC release as early as February 2020. Many cast doubt on Sony making such a massive departure from its longtime dedication to first-party exclusive-driven console sales, but the speculative report was hard to ignore, having come from the same source which had previously leaked PS4-exclusive Death Stranding’s upcoming PC release.
Now, insider sources that spoke to Kotaku say that Horizon Zero Dawn is indeed coming to PC sometime this year. These sources from within Sony have elected to remain anonymous as the company isn’t ready to officially make an announcement, but the claim seems trustworthy given its timing and corroboration. This will be the first title developed by Guerrilla Games to release on a platform other than PlayStation since its acquisition by Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2005, and it will be Sony’s first-ever first-party exclusive (excepting a few MMOs) to make its way off of its console line. At the moment, it’s unclear as to whether this unannounced PC port will come bundled with The Frozen Wilds DLC or what the price tag might be.
Lauded as one of the most visually breathtaking games of the current console generation, Horizon Zero Dawn will likely be a must-own for PC players with high-end gaming rigs. The same will likely go for the port of Death Stranding slated for summer 2020, but regardless of which title hits PC first this year Horizon Zero Dawn will still enjoy its title as the first Sony-developed and Sony-published game to hit the platform, as Death Stranding was developed externally by Kojima Productions. Beyond gorgeous visuals and subtle in-game nods to one another, Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding also share something even more integral in common with one another: Guerrilla’s impressive Decima Engine. Since they run on similar tech and both studios recently collaborated on the continued development of Decima, it’s unclear which title entered PC development first, or if progress on one port paved the way for the other.
2020 will decide much of Sony’s future as a creative software and hardware powerhouse, but it’s difficult to foresee what may be in store so far out from yet another Sony-less E3 conference and the looming holiday launch window of the PS5. If this Horizon Zero Dawn PC leak rings true, though, it points to Sony’s potential to adapt and take risks in a rapidly changing gaming market - an exciting and engaging possibility for all players.
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Source: Kotaku
