Returnal might be headed to PC, a new SteamDB listing suggests

rockpapershotgun.com:

Sony mentioned in an investor call this week that a third of their first-party games would be on PC by 2025. Well, it looks like Returnal could be next in line to be ported across based on details in a new listing on SteamDB.

The SteamDB listing does not have "Returnal" written on it, but it includes several references to elements from the game and its fiction, including its Tower Of Sisyphus DLC, its protagonist's ship "Helios" and the planet Atropos.

Returnal is a third-person shooter roguelike starring a time-looping protagonist battling gribblies on an alien planet. It released as a PlayStation 5 launch game and received broadly positive reviews, while being noted for its difficulty. It seems like the kind of game that would do well on PC.

It's worth keeping in mind that it's not uncommon for listings to appear in Steam's database months or even years before release, so if this listing does represent Returnal, it doesn't mean that the game is imminent.

If Returnal does come to PC, it will be following a number of other first-party Sony games that recently made the hop, including Horizon: Zero Dawn, Days Gone, and God Of War. Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves is also apparently headed our way.

Sony have said consistently that they plan on continuing to bring their games to PC, albeit after a substantial period of console exclusivity. Last year, Sony bought Nixxes, a studio which specialises in PC ports.

2021 was also the same year Sony bought Returnal developers Housemarque. Many of Housemarque's previous games, such as the wonderful shmup Nex Machina, were released on PC.

Disclosure: RPS co-founder Alec Meer does writing for Housemarque now.