Hermen Hulst Q&A: Interview with Head of PlayStation’s Worldwide Studios

What's next for Guerrilla, upcoming TV and film projects, and the guiding principles that drive PlayStation’s network of world-class game studios.

[The 10th Rider]

Horizon Zero Dawn confirmed for PC.

[Jin_Sakai]

The important part.

“Hulst doesn't rule out more first-party games coming to PC, but says there are no plans to release PC versions of PlayStation games at the same time as their console counterparts.“

[TGGJustin]

Yeah people shouldn't expect this to become the norm like Microsoft does. Horizon clearly had it done because the engine is already ready for PC due to Death Stranding's PC version and b/c they want to build even more interest for Horizon 2 on PS5.

[CaptainHenry916]

They're using this as a strategy to get more gamers on the Playstation. Microsoft did the same thing with PC and Nintendo Switch (Cuphead and Ori)

[timotim]

This is the important part to me:

"At the same time, we're going to be very open to experimentation, to new ideas. Just trying things out to see what works. I think that's also very much part of the DNA of Worldwide Studios."

[-Foxtrot]

@TGGJustin

Feels like a puzzle coming together

Death Stranding uses the same engine as Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn also comes to the PC

Herman Hulst the new head of PlayStations Worldwide Studios was Guerrilla Games managing director and co-founder

Guerrilla Games made the engines for both games and developed Horizon.

Maybe it's been selected to go to PC for just those reasons.

[darthv72]

If this (and death stranding) are their first foray into PC gaming then I would expect a few other notable titles to come out later as well. Possibly Days Gone, Killzone Shadowfall, Bloodborne. Ones that have been out for some time on the PS4 that could make the transition to PC.

This is really good news to the PC only gamers.

@captain, yeah I read that as more will come, so I listed a few that seemed to fit as well.

[CaptainHenry916]

@Darthv72
It would be good news but he said.

"And to maybe put a few minds at ease, releasing one first-party AAA title to PC doesn’t necessarily mean that every game now will come to PC. In my mind, Horizon Zero Dawn was just a great fit in this particular instance. We don’t have plans for day and date [PC releases], and we remain 100% committed to dedicated hardware"

So I don't expect every Playstation exclusive to come to PC or Nintendo Switch just like Microsoft exclusives. And if they do come you'll probably have to wait one or two years for it to release. But I'm not complaining I'm only paying $4.99 a month for Windows gamepass. Win win situation in my book

[Donnie81]

I don’t trust him and Sony is obviously gonna start putting everything on pc. There’s no reason to own a PlayStation!!

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

Donnie81 - Don't be daft, Herman reiterated more than once that would not be the case.

This is Sony not ms, they don't need to lie to get people onside.

[S2Killinit]

@Donnie
Thats MS. This is PlayStation. They do things their way.

[bouzebbal]

We’re very committed to dedicated hardware, as we were before. We’re gonna continue to do that. And we’re very committed to quality exclusives. And to strong narrative-driven, single-player games.

All I needed to hear!!

[--bienio--]

That’s fine. We can wait like we wait for HDZ..

[RazzerRedux]

YES!! Jason Schreier was dead on after all.

[thatguyhayat]

Hes rarely been wrong

[aconnellan]

One of the last good game journalists. Amazed that he’s still at Kotaku of all places

[AspiringProGenji]

”HH: Sure. I think it’s important that we stay open to new ideas of how to introduce more people to PlayStation, and show people maybe what they’ve been missing out on.

And to maybe put a few minds at ease, releasing one first-party AAA title to PC doesn’t necessarily mean that every game now will come to PC. In my mind, Horizon Zero Dawn was just a great fit in this particular instance. We don’t have plans for day and date [PC releases], and we remain 100% committed to dedicated hardware.”

Good!
StIck to you strengths
Make good games, and people will invest and play it

[Father__Merrin]

If they go same route as xbox then it will be over for them

[aconnellan]

Why though? Last I checked Xbox is still around. I don’t think releasing exclusives on PC will kill Sony

[Thundercat77]

They don't have to go the same route as the competitor who is last place in the market. There is simply no need.

[Larrysweet]

because sony doesnt have the money microsoft has and pc is microsoft so itd kill sony

[Unspoken]

I support Sony's decision to allow their games to be played beyond their toxic community on the PlayStation platform. Thank you Sony for innovating and expanding to PC.

[Kribwalker]

MS is also committed to dedicated hardware. They are also dedicated to cloud streaming and dedicated to pc. Sony has been moving the same way for a while (been dedicated to hardware free streaming all gen, and now suddenly putting games on PC....)

they are following a similar path, just taking different roads to get there

[Jin_Sakai]

Can’t believe they talk about a first party game coming to PC while the world is waiting for a PS5 reveal.

[Battlestar23]

Now bring it to Xbox so more gamers can play it.

[RazzerRedux]

LOL. Wait.....are you being serious?

[Battlestar23]

What's so funny? It would be nice if Sony cared for gamers and release their games on more then one console.

[RazzerRedux]

Why just "more than one" then? Why not all consoles? In which case, Microsoft and Nintendo don't "care for gamers" either, huh?

That's a silly attitude to take, frankly.

[aconnellan]

Yeah I don’t know what this guy’s smoking

[XabiDaChosenOne]

Why dont you care for your self and buy a playstation? Sony doesnt owe you anything if you're not a customer.

[Battlestar23]

Sony owe gamers for making them who they are today. I don't want to buy a PS5 if i can help it. I'd prefer XSX/Switch.

[AspiringProGenji]

Sony owe “their fans” for making them where they are, not people like you who are not interested in their product but want their games on another brand that isn’t theirs

[Silly gameAr]

@battlestar23

The people that made Sony what they are today bought playstations and games on playstation. You sound like a kid having a hissy fit because you can't get what you want where you want it.

[Jin_Sakai]

“Sony owe gamers for making them who they are today. I don't want to buy a PS5 if i can help it. I'd prefer XSX/Switch.“

This might be the worst comment in N4G history. You can’t be serious.

[thatguyhayat]

You can't be serious lool if you wanted to play them then you should have got a PS4.

[Battlestar23]

No gamers shouldn't be forced to buy a console to play a game they should make their games available to everyone. They are for the players after all.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

Battlestar23 - How old are you buddy? That's a ridiculous statement you've just made AND are trying to backup.

If all games were available everywhere - out of the 3, we won't need ms and Nintendo. Sony is actually the best place to play games.

Or get a PC and port beg like most of them do.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Now Sony has different policies than Microsoft so don't be spoiled.

[XabiDaChosenOne]

@Battlestar23 Sony owes PLAYSTATION GAMERS for making them who they are today. I.E people who buy their console. If you dont buy their consoles what they hell do they owe you? Lol
" I don't want to buy a PS5 if i can help it."
That sounds like a personal issue dude.

[GreenDragonCVR]

Buy a console ffs; this is entertainment and luxury goods, not a human right. With this you deserve and are entitled, like the rest of us, to nothing.

[--bienio--]

That’s not going to happen 😂 sorry

[badz149]

see? SONY? are you seeing this? this is the kind of ungrateful bastards you guys are trying to appease with this move! keep your games exclusives and see you keep your glory! you didn't need PC before and you had 3 out of only 4 consoles selling over 100mil (5 if DS included). why do you need them now? for mere units of sales while succumbing to piracy which is easier to do than ever now?? MS released all their exclusives on PC but do you see any of them selling even remotely close to what HZD has done? let alone GoW, Spider-man, Uncharted 4 and TLoU which have sold so much more just on PS4 and is selling PS4s while they are at it too. Spider-man is the best selling superhero game in history too beating all the Arkham games releasing on all platforms. but albeit all these signs...why chose this path? the PS5 is just around the corner but what made you guys think announcing your game going to PC is going to do it any favor?? wrong move, Sony!

[jjb1981]

I would love to play a Killzone game on PC. Killzone 2 is my favorite shooter of all time. That would be awesome but if it came out on PS5 with a PC port unknown, I would just buy the console version on day one.

[Majin-vegeta]

Does RCPS3 emu not have KZ 2?

[jjb1981]

I still have my ps3 and Killzone 2. I can play that. I'm talking about a brand new Killzone game on PS5.

[darthv72]

Maybe they will get Shadowfall to come to PC next???

[PhantomTommy]

You don't actually want that one, believe me.

[timotim]

PS games coming to Microsoft's platform...who would have thought? Some said this would never happen. Wonder if you will need a PS account to play the game and if it will have PS Trophies...

[AspiringProGenji]

Well, you tried
🤡

[timotim]

Try what? Windows 10 is a Microsoft platform is it not? Or will it not come to Windows 10?

[RazzerRedux]

More than likely it will be released on Steam or EGS.

[mrmikew2018]

I see it coming to Steam and Epic games, I doubt if it comes to the Windows 10 store or are you trolling?

[timotim]

I said Windows 10...the platform, not to be confused with the Microsoft Store. Yes, I know of Steam...but Steam is nothing more than a store front for the Windows platform. The game is being made to work with the Windows operating system...an OS made by Microsoft...thats all I was saying.

[RazzerRedux]

"Steam is nothing more than a store front for the Windows platform"

Steam is a store ON the Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms. It is not "for" Windows at all. Windows is an open operating system and anyone can create programs for it freely without paying a penny in royalties or fees to MS. Steam is one such program.

[timotim]

@Razzer

Yes, Steam is a store thats made for Windows, Mac and Linux platforms just like Netflix is a service made for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Kindle etc. However, there are literally 1000s of games that are on Steam for Windows but is not on Steam for Mac and Linux. Have we even heard about this game coming to those platforms yet? If so, that would be even more platforms. I also said nothing of fees or royalties...my comment had nothing to do with how much money Microsoft is making off this game, my comment was simply that a game that use to be a PS only game is now being made for a Microsoft platform which is 100% facts. I understand the open nature of the Windows platform and I love it for that reason...it means we get benefits such as this...it means for someone like me who doesn't own a PS, I can now play this natively on my Surface Studio without needing a PS console. Who would have thought...

EDIT: I see where the confusing came into play. Yeah, wasn't implying that Steam is for Windows only...

[RazzerRedux]

@timotim

I don't disagree with any of that. Only thing I was clarifying was the statement that "Steam is nothing more than a store front FOR the Windows platform" which intrinsically ties Steam and Windows together which, as you acknowledge, isn't the case. All good.

[Elda]

Horizon is on the Steam platform.

[gold_drake]

its good to know that they dont just abandon their consoles just because some titles might come to pc aswell :)

[YodaCracker]

Why would Sony abandon their consoles? Even Microsoft invests a lot in their consoles despite the fact that they have the biggest platform with Microsoft Windows. Sony only has their PlayStation consoles.

[_Decadent_Descent]

I really don't see any issue at all with them releasing their whole catalogue on PC. Sure there will be some (admittedly myself) who wouldn't have a need to buy their hardware anymore, but I feel most console gamers aren't going to stop being console gamers simply because of preference.

[--bienio--]

Exactly. It’s win for Sony trust me! Like myself I’m only play on Pc and we all new Sony got the best exclusives and if they allow us to play some of them it’s win for them and us. Good move Sony!

[RosweeSon]

Yeah only a minority play on PC.

[Elda]

There are PS owners that don't game on PC such as myself,I doubt they'll abandon console buyers & owners.

[RosweeSon]

Nah not interested in PC in the slightest consistently paying over the odds for top end tech that needs replacing upgrading every 2-3 years and waiting similar times for games to launch no thanks. Just for a few extra frames per second hellll no.

[Butters360]

Let's see what long term impact of this news brings and if the rest of Worldwide Studios social media managers like being hounded by PC comments.

[rainslacker]

He said they're experimenting with some different things to see how they go. I imagine if they actually saw a decrease in game sales or console sales by doing this, or got too much negative feedback like you mention, then that would probably stop this experiment.

Sometimes, gamers can be their own worst enemies.

[Butters360]

True. I'm honestly just expected fans to to start asking when does it come to PC on EVERY PS4/PS5 release with this news.

[rainslacker]

Yeah. I expect that probably will happen. We see it with Xbox games now, so don't see why it would be any different. Sometimes, turn around is fair play. It'll die down after a while though. Given that it's a "negative" for both sides, it'll be forgotten, just like everything else which is a negative when they both do it, or don't do it.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

PC gamers play HZD - see how epic it is, Sony release HZD2 on a console that costs $499. PC gamers may buy a PS5, so they don't have to wait 3 - 4 yrs to play it.

That could be what they're going for.

[Elda]

That's basically what Hulst stated which means the next Horizon won't be released on PC until years later like the first.

[xX-oldboy-Xx]

Bingo mate - PS5 will be the place play next gen.

[Automatic79]

Detroit, Death Stranding, Nioh, Heavy Rain, Predator Hunting Grounds, Horizon Zero Dawn, and PS Now. It doesn't matter whether 3 years, 6 months, or day in date, its happening. Sony trying to downplay what they are implementing, possibly to try to not upset fans. Overall, Sony should just come out and tell people we are going to grow eco system. To many folks on this website deny or twist reality to then come around a few years later and accept. Bring everyone on board now and not slowly trickle news is all I am saying.

[RazzerRedux]

"Sony trying to downplay what they are implementing, possibly to try to not upset fans. Overall, Sony should just come out and tell people we are going to grow eco system."

lol....typical for you to assume Sony is being disingenuous. I would love nothing more than every PS game on PC, but I understand why they are not and there is no reason to doubt Hulst here.

"many folks on this website deny or twist reality"

Yeah....that would be you, right now.

[rainslacker]

Of all those games you mention, Horizon is the only one that Sony is publishing on PC. All the others are not first party games, nor is Sony publishing them on PC. Only other game going to PC is MLB:The Show, which is mandated with their updated contract with the MLB.

[Butters360]

Facts.

[aconnellan]

You might need to explain why that distinction matters, because I don’t get it.

For comparison’s sake, there was a big fuss when Sunset Overdrive went to PC, and that’s not first party either. Are we now only counting first parties/when the publishers are the same between the platforms?

No matter how you cut it, they were only on PlayStation and now they’re on PS/PC. That can be good or bad depending on who you ask, but I think it’s disingenuous to start adding all sorts of asterisks’ and clauses now that it’s PS games that are the ones being published on PC

[rainslacker]

The distinction is, that of all the games that went to PC, Sony only had a hand in one of them from your list. They probably could have prevented the Quantic Dreams games by not licensing them to another publisher, but beyond that, Sony had nothing to do with them going to PC.

I don't recall the fuss about SSoD, although I don't doubt your word. But my comment was solely based on your own comment about what Sony was doing. You were saying is downplaying what they're doing, to which you respond by listing a bunch of games to support an argument that Sony is doing more than they are actually doing right now. I called you out on the logical failing of your comment.

[Elda]

Most of those games are not Sony owned except Horizon & Horizon is 3 years old.

[Stanjara]

Every time from now on when I see a trailer with Only on PlayStation, I will say ...and PC

[Father__Merrin]

There's only horizon and PS now that'd a Sony decision, nioh was timed exclusive and david cage games was his decision

[OzzY-waZZy]

Yeah sure, but what about PS5?

[ps5fanboy]

killzone p5

[GoldPunch-TR]

I hate you Hermen :(

[mkis007]

Wonder if they would do something as dastardly as port the first game in a trilogy only to pc so that people need to buy ps consoles to finish their story.

[P_Bomb]

That’s kinda where we’re at with Hellblade, Outer Worlds, Sunset Overdrive, Bayonetta and odd ducks in the Metal Gear/ Splinter Cell/ GTA/ FF/ Yakuza series. You pretty much need to moonlight somewhere to get the whole set. Witcher 1 and Hitman 1 (the original) never even made it to console.

[AK91]

Guess God of War & Marvel's Spiderman is Next then.

[lellkay]

This guy was the best possible choice to put in this role. Good moves coming.

[2ndhandcorn]

Sweet if Sony release a game i may want to play like MAG or Warhawk on pc i would buy it , not into singleplayer games much these days .

[Donnie81]

This guy is a wanna be Phil Spencer

[BioShockGX]

This guy will ruin sony