New information has come to light regarding a PC port for Returnal. A SteamDB listing was uncovered, first reported by VGC. The listing hints that Returnal may the next PlayStation “exclusive” heading to PC. Sony has brought a handful of its first-party games to PC so far. Horizon Zero Dawn, and God of War are the two best-selling PC ports for the company. As of March 2022, Horizon Zero Dawn has over 2 million copies sold on PC. Originally revealed in a possible leak from GeForce Now, there have been prior reports of PC ports that have come to light in past months.
The SteamDB listing is under the title Oregon. The listing for Oregon is classified under 16 categories, the main ones being bullet hell, sci-fi, and rogue-like. These all lend to the idea this title is Returnal. More so than the categories listed, the mention of “Tower of Sisyphus” and “Atropos” are direct references to the Returnal world. Atropos is the name of the planet where the game takes place. To add, Sony recently revealed gameplay for the Tower of Sisyphus, a new gauntlet coming to Returnal.
There hasn’t been any confirmation out of Sony yet, but the evidence is pointing to a Returnal PC port.
Returnal is not the only port coming to PC
Sony has committed to bringing first-party ports to PC. In a GQ interview PlayStation president Jim Ryan stated: “There’s an opportunity to expose those great games to a wider audience and recognize the economics of game development, which are not always straightforward.” The latter part of that quote is referring to the cost of putting a game on PC, versus putting a game on console.
Sony also recently acquired Nixxes Software, a studio primarily known for bringing PC ports to many Square Enix IP. The games Hitman and Tomb Raider are among the most recognizable titles the team has worked on. The company has also recently changed its PlayStation Mobile publishing handle to “PlayStation PC LLC.”
Sony is looking to gear up for a charge into the PC marketplace, and when looking at all the factors involved, the decision to port first-party games is long overdue. The company is expecting big prophets in 2022, so it’s expected that many more PC titles could be ported. Ratchet and Clank and Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. are among the most likely to see the jump next.
