The ongoing narrative of PS5 console exclusivity hurting games continues to be countered by sales data. While it’s true that the more the merrier, the sales split between platforms for a number of games has shown that PS5 is the platform of choice, as most recently seen in the case of Silent Hill 2 remake.
How much does PS5 console exclusivity affect games?
As highlighted by GamesIndustry.biz’s Chris Dring (via ResetEra), a whopping 78% of Silent Hill 2’s sales in Europe (minus U.K.) are on PS5 and only 22% on PC. Europe is just a piece of the global pie, but these figures — which include physical and digital — aren’t exactly miniscule.
Some players have theorized that Silent Hill 2 sold less on PC because of its high-spec PC requirements, but that doesn’t negate the massive split here.
Recently, Square Enix released Final Fantasy XVI on PC after admitting that the game saw lackluster sales. Many theorized that PS5 exclusivity hurt FFXVI’s sales, but the game’s PC launch wasn’t anything to write home about either. There are plenty of arguments to be made about why FFXVI wasn’t massive on PC, but the point here is that exclusivity isn’t necessarily hurting sales.
Stellar Blade studio Shift Up is currently gearing up to release the game on PC. It remains to be seen how well it does on a platform where full-priced games aren’t exactly an easy sell.