The gaming industry has long relied on console exclusives as a key strategy to attract players to specific platforms. Iconic franchises such as Mario, Gran Turismo, and Halo have historically been tied to single consoles, though Halo has since expanded to PC. However, recent trends indicate a shift away from exclusivity, with developers like Sega embracing multi-platform releases.

While timed exclusives—where games are initially restricted to one console before expanding—remain common, major publishers are increasingly abandoning strict exclusivity. Sony and Microsoft have even begun porting previously exclusive titles like Persona and Gears of War to rival platforms. Now, leaked sales data from Sega reveals the potential downsides of Sony's exclusivity policies.

The leaked Sega sales figures demonstrate a striking contrast between exclusive and multi-platform performance. Persona 5 Royal, initially a PlayStation exclusive, saw sales decline from 1 million units in 2020 to just 350,000 by 2022. However, after its multi-platform release, sales surged, surpassing 1.5 million units annually for three consecutive years. Persona 5 Royal has since become Atlus' best-selling title, with over 7 million copies sold.

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The success of multi-platform releases like Persona 5 Royal appears to be influencing Sony's approach. The company recently launched Stellar Blade on PC, where it sold 1 million copies on Steam in under a week, contributing to over 3 million total sales. Rumors suggest that Stellar Blade may even come to the Nintendo Switch 2, with developer Shift Up reportedly working on a port.

Sony's shift extends to its own franchises. Following the success of The Last of Us Part 2, both the sequel and the remastered Part 1 were released on PC. Similarly, 2022's God of War Ragnarok made its PC debut in 2024. These moves suggest a potential long-term change in Sony's exclusivity strategy.