Bluepoint tech boss suggests Sony's scared of Valve, not Microsoft, and that's why it's pulling back from PC: 'It would be quite ironic if Valve ultimately ended up winning the console war'

Our six-year stint of feeling very smug about getting pretty much every game on PC (excluding Nintendo, which will forever be Nintendo about it) came to an end last week, when a report from Bloomberg said that Sony has decided to pull back from its strategy of releasing its console exclusives—after a suitable delay—on PC.

Theories flew as to what had prompted Sony to make the move. Do its PC ports not make money anymore? Do they weaken the brand? Was the corporation scared off by Microsoft's Project Helix—its next-gen console that will, it says, play both Xbox and PC games?

Maybe, maybe not, but here's a new theory for the pile, courtesy of Bluepoint Games' (RIP) head of technology Peter Dalton. What if Sony's actually scared of Valve, not Microsoft?

"Some people frame [Sony's PC pullback] as a response to Xbox, but I’m not convinced that’s the real driver," wrote Dalton on X. "A more interesting possibility is the rise of a Steam-based console ecosystem."

After all, why do people buy consoles instead of PCs? They're (usually) cheaper, easier to figure out, and low-maintenance. But now Valve's come along with devices like the Steam Deck and Steam Machine and started blurring those lines. Dalton continues: "If Valve releases a new Steam console that provides a console-like experience while still giving players access to the entire PC game library, that could become a very compelling option.

"If Sony were releasing all of its games day-and-date on PC, the Steam console could effectively offer the best of all worlds: console simplicity with the full breadth of PC gaming." Which is rather tasty, isn't it? In fact, speaking from personal experience, more than a few people close to me—who up to now have been console-only—have reached out to ask me about the Steam Machine, and suggested it might be what they upgrade to next.

"It would be quite ironic if, after decades of traditional console competition, Valve ultimately ended up winning the console war." Of course, to do that, it has to actually, you know, release all that cool hardware it unveiled last year, a prospect which seems to get harder every single day that the RAM crisis continues.

Steam Frame: Valve's new wireless VR headset
Steam Machine: Compact living room gaming box
Steam Controller: A controller to replace your mouse