PlayStation has 20M MAU on PC per Epyllion report

An interesting tidbit of information from the Epyllion report.

https://www.matthewball.co/all/stateofvideogaming2025

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Kinda crazy but, 20M MAU means PC is already a sizeable market for them.

How much Mau per Epyllion is that?

idk, I only deal in MAU per bananas.

Multi platform for the win.

Yes indeed. I am glad Sony sees that too.

Still 50 million PS4 users... Half of sonys last generation clientele knows how bad this generation has been for Sony.... Eek.

The most played games on consoles are overwhelmingly cross generation; it's why GTA6 is seen as being immensely important for the current generation. It *will* move people.

On the flop side, 50M people still being on PS4 speaks to the strength of the platform. They haven't ditched PlayStation for Xbox or PC or Switch or anybody else.

I am a PS4 owner who has not migrated ...and likely won't. I have no doubt there are some folks out there still riding the wave of PS4 relevancy as Sony hasn't really established a need for PS5 this generation. I also think a lot of those 50 million are folks who are looking or already have moved on to other pasture... I suppose though with gta 6 coming out we'll see where people are sitting.

Yeah, I'm sure some folks won't move on to PS5 but, I wouldn't underestimate what GTA6 (+ the new GTA Online) will do for the current generation. It's only going to be on Xbox and PlayStation at launch and we know damn well PlayStation wins that battle.

Time for Nintendo to jump in now

@girlusocrazy: Nintendo can barely get a peer-to-peer connection going, you really expecting them to get with the times?

Nintendo tried diversifying platforms with putting their IP on mobile devices, they went back on it.

@girlusocrazy: I doubt that Nintendo ever will. The company only plays by its own rules.

@pmanden: Yeah but people seem to hate exclusives and say the market is going away from this so it sounds like they will have to?

PS4 is holding back the PS5 hardcore.

Another three letter acronym? How long before politicians start saying we need to get MAU out of our schools?

PlayStation PC for the win.. 😎👍

i'm definitely one of those MAUs..

The part of that report I find more interesting: The video game industry is declining.

In real terms (adjusted for inflation), industry revenue peaked in 2021, then had a significant drop in 2022 due to the COVID fallout. But even after pandemic ended, industry revenue has been on a slow decline ever since (adjusted for inflation).

At the same time, the digital video content industry has grown rapidly in that same time period. The report is suggesting that the rapid growth of digital video content (especially TikTok) is taking leisure time away from video games (as well as movies).

the most popular and most played games are still available on last gen.. and ultimately, an active PS4 user spending money on Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Minecraft is still generating revenue for PlayStation..

it literally doesn't matter if they "upgrade" to a PS5 or just stay on their PS4..

this generation shows how buying specific hardware is becoming less and less relevant.. it also shows that "high end graphics" aren't as important to casual gamers as internet forums would have us believe..

So people prefer PC and PS4 more than they prefer PS5.

Good to know.

Other interesting parts of the report:

PC gaming has overtaken console gaming - PC gaming now generates more revenue than console gaming (although both combined still make less than mobile games). It was inevitable this would happen, hence why Sony and Xbox have both been trying to capture a share of the PC gaming market for years now (only Nintendo is not interested). Technically, this benefits Microsoft the most, as PC gaming helps their core Windows division make more money (though not their Xbox division).

Video game budgets are rising rapidly - Development budgets have been rising exponentially in the last few years, which is a bad sign when video game revenue has been stagnant during that same time period. In other words, AAA games are becoming less and less profitable.

Time to lower budgets and make games that appeal to casual gamers.

Forcing those PSN requirements really boosted their numbers, huh?

One way they could lower budgets is using AI... Yes, a lot of people hate AI. But that's the only realistic solution I can see to lower budgets while maintaining AAA standards. As long as they don't become completely reliant on AI (it's still a buggy mess) and only use it as a tool to assist developers.

@navyguy21:

I mean the PSN requirement is exactly how they measure MAU on PlayStation consoles as well so, yes. lol

@Jag85:

The report also points to China being the overwhelming contributor to that increase in PC revenue. Consoles need to enter that market more aggressively if they want to keep up in the long term.

@Nonstop-Madness: The market has grown beyond consoles. I don't see a shift back to consoles being the primary platforms.

Consoles are still relevant for those of us who can't be arsed to work out what graphics card is best. Just buy a box and connect it and you are done.

Devices like the Steam Deck are more likely to make me switch as I have zero interest in online gaming.

What is the problem that, game wise, there is very little with a need to make you switch. Now if GTA 6 is not on the PS4 then we could see a jump to PS5.

When Wukong came out, the PS5 got a big sales boost in China. That's what consoles need, killer apps that appeal to the Chinese market.

@Pedro:

Well, yeah, we aren’t going back from a mobile dominated market. There’s just way too many devices in people’s hands and they’re nearing the realm of performance that allows for traditional AAA gaming seen on PC and consoles.

Ex. The report says they’ll be 1 billion devices in the market by 2030 that will basically have gen 8 performance (PS4).

The big players will need to rely on their platform lock-in effects (across devices) and their own IP even more to stay relevant.

@Jag85:

Correct. It’s the reason why PlayStation has been so invested in projects like the China Hero Project. Creating some platform lock-in effects in China could pay off substantially.

sounds like the exact reason why "the Xbox strategy" is being adopted by PlayStation..

consumers all tend to own PCs and mobile devices as a natural part of daily life.. according to that report, by 2030, there will be 1 billion of those devices that can play PS4-level games natively.. PS4-level games are currently the most popular and most played games despite the existence of PS5-level games..

why buy a $500 console when you can play your favorite games on the device(s) you already own?.. 🤷‍♂️

2030 is literally 5 years from now and we are currently seeing that the mass market doesn't care about "high end graphics".. the writing is on the wall and Xbox is positioned to take the best advantage of that landscape..

@Antwan3K:

Not every approach to expanding onto other platforms is an Xbox strategy.

Ex. Mobile. Xbox’s mobile strategy has overwhelmingly been *streaming* AND not native gaming. If anything the report proves that Xbox never really needed mobile streaming in the near term. That’s a failure in strategy.

Again, I’ve told *you* and others many times that strategy (the approach) is not the same as *goals*. Xbox and PlayStation have similar goals but not strategy. That’s important because strategy is what leads to an outcome.

Ex. PlayStation implemented cross play and cross save in the PS3 era. I guess that means “Play Anywhere” is a PlayStation strategy and has been one this whole time.? Logically, no. The scope and scale are wildly different and that makes for a whole different *strategy*.

So yeah, strategy isn’t the same.

PlayStation isn’t going to sacrifice their console. They aren’t going to put Wolverine on Xbox. They aren’t launching their own mobile App Store. Etc.

Games on PC? Yes. Games on mobile? Yes. Handheld console? Yes. But *how*? Not like Xbox.

Never heard of the China Hero Project until now. But that's a good way to bring on Chinese devs and build up a user base in China.

regardless of that exercise in semantics, in terms of the big three, when you think of who's pushing for "console, PC, mobile, and cloud" as their gaming strategy, you think of Xbox..

and Sony's CEO recently stated "the future of PlayStation is in consoles, PC, mobile, and cloud"..

i know it's difficult for you to simply admit this, but that's essentially "the Xbox strategy"..