It is well known that Sony has a wide branch of private studios (the so-called first parties) in charge of developing games of all kinds. These exclusive games have managed to bring PS4 to the great console that we know today, so we are going to review all the exclusive games that cannot or could not be played on any platform other than PlayStation 4 .
First parties?
When we talk about a first parties we are referring to some development studies that focus their efforts solely on launching a product for a company. These companies bring to life a series of games designed for a console, and this title will normally enjoy total exclusivity throughout the generation.
In some cases, as we will see later, there are some agreements that have allowed the game to be taken to another platform, such as the PC, but rarely (if ever) does it for direct rival platforms, such as from PS4 to Xbox One.
From SIE Worldwire Studios to PlayStation
With the idea of bringing together great professionals and obtaining the best results for its console, Sony began to create (and also buy) different development studios, until in 2016 the company decided to create a new branch merging SCE (Sony Computer Entertainmnet) and SNEI (Sony Network Entertainmnet International. Thus was born the current Sony Interactive Entertainment, which has the following list of studies:
- Bend Studio : Acquired in 2000, it was in charge of creating great relics such as the Syphon Filter saga or the versions of Uncharted for PlayStation Vita. His last major launch was Days Gone .
- ForwardWorks : Founded in 2017 by Sony itself, it is the branch in charge of bringing the essence of PlayStation to Android platforms.
- Guerrilla Games : Added to the studios catalog in 2005, Guerrilla Games is being a key player in Sony’s future. His momentum began with Killzone, but the final explosion appeared with Horizon Zero Dawn .
- Insomniac Games : In the form of a bombshell, Sony acquired Insomniac Games in 2019, and with it it would bring to life the fantastic Marvel Spider-Man. Previously, she was in charge of giving life to the wonderful Spyro the Dragon , the Ratchet & Clanck and even Sunset Overdrive for Xbox One.
- Japan Studio : The Japanese subsidiary of Sony based in Tokyo has been in charge of giving life to classics such as Ape Escape , Ico, Shadow of the Colossus , Bloodborne, The Last Guardian , among others.
- London Studio : British studios are known for bringing the first EyeToy games to life, though they eventually focused efforts on the Singstar and PlayStation VR Worlds franchise.
- Media Molecule : Another purchase made in 2010 with which Sony was awarded the studios behind LittleBigPlanet. With several installments released, the last great work is the magnificent Dreams.
- Naughty Dog : One of the great PlayStation gold mines. After the mythical Crash Bandicoot , Sony decided to buy the studio, and from then on gems like Jak and Daxter , Uncharted and nothing more and nothing less than The Last of Us were born .
- Pixelopus: Founded in 2014, they are the creators of the fun Concrete Genie .
- Polyphony Digital : These Tokyo studios are exclusively dedicated to bringing the entire Gran Turismo saga to life.
- San Diego Studio : All editions of MLB: The Show are brought to life in the San Diego offices.
- San Mateo Studio : They are usually the fulcrum of other studios for game development. They have collaborated in the sagas of Syphon Filter , Jak and Daxter , Uncharted, Infamous, Marver’s Spider-Man and many others.
- Santa Monica Studio : Another of Sony’s great pearls. Here is born neither more nor less than God of War .
- Suker Punch Productions : It was one of the latest acquisitions, and after developing all the Infamous, it will be one of those that will deliver what is possibly the last great title for PS4: Ghost of Tsushima .
With the launch of PlayStation 5 , Sony has wanted to once again touch up its studios to rename the empire and offer it a name more in line with the entire ecosystem of the brand, so, with the launch of the console, all the games created in all the studios belonging to the brand they will bear the new seal of PlayStation Studios .
The exclusive PS4 games
Knowing the great list of studies that Sony has, you may think that the list of exclusive games for their consoles is limited to those that these studies develop. Well, no. The company also agrees with other external developers to launch games exclusively for its console (currently PS4), so we will leave you with a list of all that exist today so you can get an idea of up to what point the Sony catalog is made up of large exclusive launches.
- Alienation
- Astro Bot Rescue Mission
- Basement Crawl
- Blood & Truth
- Bloodborne
- Bound
- Concrete genie
- Cyber Danganronpa VR: The Class Trial
- Days Gone
- Deep down
- Déraciné
- Drawn to Death
- Dreams
- Driveclub
- Everybody’s Golf
- Farpoint
- Fat Princess Adventures
- Firewall: Zero Hour
- Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise
- Ghost Giant
- Ghost of Tsushima
- God of war
- Gran Turismo Sport
- Granblue Fantasy: Relink
- Gravity Rush 2
- Hakoniwa Company Works
- Hardware: Rivals
- Hidden Agenda
- The Idolmaster Platinum Stars
- Infamous First Light
- Infamous Second Son
- The Inpatient
- Iron Man VR
- Judgment
- Killzone Shadow Fall
- Knack
- Knack II
- Knowledge is Power
- Kyoei Toshi
- The Last Guardian
- The Last of Us Part II
- Matterfall
- MediEvil
- MLB The Show 17
- MLB The Show 18
- MLB The Show 19
- MLB The Show 20
- Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV
- Nioh 2
- The Order: 1886
- PT
- The Playroom
- PlayStation VR Worlds
- Ratchet & Clank
- RIGS: Mechanized Combat League
- Sakura wars
- Shadow of the Beast
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Spider-man
- Spider-Man: The City that Never Sleeps
- Tearaway Unfolded
- That’s You!
- The Tomorrow Children
- Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
- Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
- Until Dawn
- Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
- Wayward sky
- Wild
- Wipeout Omega Collection
- The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2
- Without Memory
- Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
If you are an observer, you have probably noticed the odd absence on the list. If you miss any exclusive PlayStation 4 game, it is basically because it finally ended up appearing on another platform, and one of the most notorious cases is Horizon Zero Dawn , which after a spectacular launch and incredible criticism, ended up announcing its arrival on PC in the year 2020. Also missing is the presence of Death Stranding , another game, this time from Kojima Productions, which decided to make the leap 8 months later to PC after its exclusive run on PS4.