Horizon: Forbidden West Walked So That Astro Bot Could Run

One of PlayStation’s greatest strengths is its wide catalog of exclusive titles, ranging from 2005’s God of War to the relatively recent Horizon Forbidden West. By having these games available exclusively on PlayStation consoles, it encourages people to purchase these consoles in order to play these acclaimed titles. However, some exclusive titles have been ported to PC in recent years, including Horizon Forbidden West, to allow a greater range of players to experience these games' expansive worlds and captivating gameplay. With rumors of the upcoming PlayStation 5-exclusive Astro Bot coming to PC in the near future, PC players may once again be able to play through another PlayStation game.

PlayStation Games Like Horizon: Forbidden West Have Found Success on PC

For most of PlayStation’s lifetime, console exclusives have remained locked to the consoles they initially released on. While many exclusives would be remastered or remade in later console generations, such as the God of War Collection and the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix on PS3, exclusive games wouldn’t be ported to PC en masse until the PS4 generation. As PC gaming became increasingly popular in the mid to late 2010s, the number of console-exclusive ports to the platform also increased. While it often took several years for games to be ported to PC after their initial console release, many were eventually brought to PC, such as Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition, 2018’s God of War, and Days Gone.

By the time the PS5 debuted in 2020, many PlayStation exclusives had already been released on PC and this trend only increased throughout the PS5’s generation. Landmark hits from Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut, Helldivers 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and even new games such as Concord can already be bought on PC. However, not every exclusive has been ported to PC with many fan favorites still locked to their console platforms, such as Bloodborne, 2018’s Shadow of the Colossus, and 2020’s Demon’s Souls. Despite this, many more exclusives are already expected to be released on PC soon, including God of War Ragnarök and the upcoming Until Dawn remake.

Astro Bots PC Potential and Beyond

Four games for the Astro Bot series have been released so far, including The PlayRoom, The PlayRoom VR, Astro Bot Rescue Mission for the PS4’s PS VR, and Astro’s Playroom, which is pre-loaded on every PS5 console. None of these games have been ported to PC yet, nor has The PlayRoom VR or Astro Bot Rescue Mission been ported to the PS VR2. The fifth entry in the Astro series, simply titled Astro Bot, will be released on September 6th exclusively for PS5, but there is potential for the game to be released on PC after its initial console debut.

According to a recent interview with the independent games media outlet MinnMax, Astro Bot's creative director, Nicolas Doucet, claimed that he and other developers from Team ASOBI want to hear from PC players about the possibility of the game releasing on PC. While there are no plans for Astro Bot to release on PC currently, it could come to PC in later months or even years later. It took Horizon Forbidden West two years from its initial 2022 console debut to release on PC, so it could take a while for Astro Bot to come to PC even if it’s successful.

Potential Ports of Prior Astro Bot Games

If Astro Bot is successful and receives an eventual PC release, Sony and Team ASOBI could potentially work on further ports of the previous Astro Bot games. Team ASOBI could work on porting The PlayRoom VR and Rescue Mission to PSVR2 or other PC VR platforms such as the Meta Quest. Likewise, Team ASOBI could potentially port Astro’s Playroom to PC as well. All of these ports could help new PC players become fans of the series and lead to more future PlayStation sales, just as Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West ports have done before.