Sony Interactive Entertainment has been porting more and more of its first-party PlayStation library to PC in recent years, and there is now reason to believe that the platform holder wants to take this one step further. New evidence suggests that Sony may one day try to integrate PlayStation Network (PSN) features into its PC games.
The news comes from the recent release of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC. Fans of the game have already been digging into the files of the game to find out every detail they can. Some of those details include references to PSN.
According to the files, which have also been seen by Video Games Chronicle, Sony might potentially want to let PC players link their PSN profiles to PlayStation games that have been ported to PC. Doing this would give those players rewards that include in-game bonuses. Specifically, players found files that contain phrases like “PSNLinkingEntitlements” and “PSNAccountLinked.” There’s even another phrase called “LevelCapExtras,” which is tied to “PSN Linking bonuses.” Could that imply that Spider-Man players would have received some bonus skill points or other extras while playing with a linked PSN account?
For the time being, it doesn’t seem like Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is going to use this feature, and it’s hard to say whether it would retroactively apply to the webhead’s latest game, nor any other PlayStation games that have already been ported to PC.
It’s worth noting that PlayStation recently released an FAQ on its official website to answer fan questions about its recent PC ports. One of the questions on this page relates to whether players will need a PSN account to play a PlayStation game that has been ported to PC. In the FAQ, Sony responds by saying players “currently do not need a PSN account to enjoy PlayStation Studios games on PC.” Currently is the keyword, as it indicates that things could change in the future. It seems likely that Sony will want to keep barriers between PC players and its games low, so perhaps this will only be an optional feature for players who want the in-game bonuses.
Microsoft has been implementing more of a mixed approach to integrating Xbox Live features into its first-party games on PC. Some games do not require players to be signed into an Xbox Live account, such as Psychonauts 2. On the other hand, games like Forza Horizon 5 do require players to be signed in, and it comes with benefits such as shared save progress and shared achievements on that specific account.
Sony recently released Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC. Spider-Man: Miles Morales will be next to arrive on PC sometime this fall. Naughty Dog has also stated that The Last of Us Part 1 will release on PC soon after its PlayStation 5 release date.
