Quantic Dream opens the door to more PC releases with move to self-publishing

French game studio Quantic Dream has been known primarily as a PlayStation studio. It's not owned by Sony, but its previous three releases—Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls, and Detroit: Become Human—were published by Sony and, until quite recently, exclusive to PlayStation consoles. That will change in the future, however, as Quantic Dream says it's now in a position where it can publish its own stuff.

"The last two years have been exceptional: the success of Detroit: Become Human; the growth of an incredible global community; the launch of our games on PC – these are just a few of our highlights. Thanks to Detroit: Become Human, we’ve been able to realize the vision we held dear since the creation of Quantic Dream," Quantic Dream co-CEOs David Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière wrote. "And so, for the first time in 23 years of working with prestigious publishers, we are now in a position to self-publish."

The move to self-publishing will enable Quantic Dream to make decisions with "total independence," they wrote, and also to assist other studios with investment and development support. "We want to support creators of original projects and help them, in turn, to achieve their vision and offer quality, ground-breaking experiences."

For PC gamers, the hope is that the change will mean no more extended waits to play Quantic Dream games. The studio's first two games, The Nomad Soul and Fahrenheit, came to us in short order (in fact, The Nomad Soul was only ever released on PC and Dreamcast), but once Sony got involved, that was the end of it until last summer—in the case of Heavy Rain, nearly a full decade after its original release.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.