Last year Horizon Zero Dawn, originally a PS4 exclusive, was re-released on PC. Now, Days Gone is confirmed to release on PC sometime this year. This has led many fans to hope that other successful PlayStation exclusives may be released on PC, in particular 2018's God of War, which was one of the console's most successful first-party games.
While many fans are hoping to see God of War come to PC some time this year, there may be one major reason that it will not end up coming to the platform any time soon. Here's a breakdown of the evidence that God of War may be getting a PC port, and the biggest hurdle facing it along the way that wasn't faced by Horizon Zero Dawn last year.
PlayStation's Exclusives
God of War was a massive success for the PS4. Kratos' triumphant return was one of the fastest selling PS4 games in its first three days, being narrowly beaten by Marvel's Spider-Man. The game released on April 20, 2018, and three days later it had already sold 3.1 million copies. Within a month of the game's release God of War had sold 5 million copies, and by May 2019 10 million people had bought the game, making it the best-selling game in the series so far and breaking the record set by God of War 3.
Sony has found huge success with many of its PlayStation exclusives, with Horizon Zero Dawn also having sold 10 million copies by February 2019, having released in 2017. The success of these first-party games led many fans to give up hope that Sony would ever consider porting these titles to the PC, and the release of the next-gen consoles seemed to confirm that both Sony and Microsoft would be aiming at acquiring more and more exclusives. Microsoft's ongoing acquisition of Elder Scrolls and Fallout developer Bethesda seemed to suggest that the next-gen would see more and more titles become console exclusives, at least temporarily.
However, the release of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC in August 2020 seemed to suggest that, at the very least, Sony's strategy could make room for PC releases later in the lifespans of its previously exclusive games to give their sales a final extra boost. This set a precedent that makes God of War coming to PC seem far more likely than it did back in 2018, leading many fans to hope that they might be able to get their hands on a PC copy of God of War before the release of the game's sequel later this year.
God Of War's Biggest Hurdle
It is God of War's Ragnarok sequel, however, which might be the biggest hurdle for fans hoping for a PC port. While Horizon Zero Dawn benefited from an extra boost in sales later in its lifespan and a sequel has since been announced, the aimed 2021 release of God of War's Ragnarok sequel will likely see the 2018 game receive a boost in sales without the need for a PC port.
It's entirely possible that, like many triple-A games originally scheduled for release this year, God of War's Ragnarok sequel may see a delay. In that case, a PC port of God of War may be more likely, allowing Sony to make some extra money off of the IP in the meantime. Additionally, one unproven leak from Twitter user @CrazyLeaksTrain suggests that previous PlayStation exclusives God of War, Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Uncharted Collection could all be getting PC ports this year.
For now, fans of the franchise will have to wait and see. Even if God of War's PC port ends up being delayed so that it doesn't overlap with the release of the sequel, it seems quite likely that a PC port will eventually happen based on Sony's decisions so far.
God of War Ragnarok is currently in development for PS5.