One of the main surprises of last year was the release of Helldivers 2 on Xbox Series X|S. The game, financed and supported by PlayStation, was released on a competing platform, and the financial report confirmed: Xbox and PC users are eager to buy Sony products outside of PS5.
In the report, the company indicated revenue of $2.37 billion in the "other software" category — these are games sold outside the PlayStation Store. The figure clearly shows that PlayStation's presence on other platforms has begun to bring in serious money.
The strategy looks well thought out. Sony is not abandoning exclusivity, but chooses the moment and specific projects to extend their life cycle. First, games are released on PS5, and later — after the main sales phase — they reach PC and sometimes Xbox. This provides additional income without compromising the initial releases.
Players also benefit. Owners of other platforms get access to PlayStation games, and in network projects, the community grows and crossplay and cross-platform features work more effectively.