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Horizon: Zero Dawn drops PS4 exclusivity for PC release this summer

Image used with permission by copyright holder

A Horizon: Zero Dawn PC port is officially on the way months after rumors first began making the rounds. The former PlayStation 4 exclusive is coming to PC this summer, but don’t expect the console’s other exclusives to follow suit.

Coming to PC as the game’s “complete edition,” which includes The Frozen Wilds expansion, Horizon: Zero Dawn doesn’t have a launch date on the platform yet. It will be available through Steam under Sony’s PlayStation Mobile publishing arm, which has previously only been used for a handful of smaller titles.

Sony’s head of worldwide studios Hermen Hulst confirmed the rumors in a PlayStation Blog interview, adding that he wanted to introduce more people to PlayStation games. He previously served as studio director for Horizon developer Guerilla Games.

“And to maybe put a few minds at ease, releasing one first-party AAA title to PC doesn’t necessarily mean that every game will now come to PC,” Hulst said. “In my mind, Horizon: Zero Dawn was just a great fit in this particular instance.”

Hulst also said that players shouldn’t expect PS4 games to release on PC at the same time, so a PS4 or PS5 will still be necessary to play at launch even if it does make the jump.

Horizon Zero Dawn - Launch Trailer | PS4

Of any PS4-exclusive game, Horizon: Zero Dawn made the most sense for a PC port. It was built using Guerilla’s Decima engine, which also powered Death Stranding. That game is also getting a PC port in June, but the port is published by 505 Games rather than Sony, and Kojima Productions is an independent studio while Sony owns Guerilla Games.

Hulst’s assurances that PlayStation consoles will still get true exclusives will be easy to maintain if the PS5 sells as well as the PS4. After Microsoft fell behind in the current console race, it began releasing its Xbox One exclusives on PC and now launches all first-party games on PC the same time as Xbox One. Only a small handful of Xbox One games are truly exclusive at this point, such as Halo 5: Guardians, but Halo Infinite will come to PC and the games often feature cross-play, cross-save, and cross-buy support.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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