Some of Sony’s biggest PS5 franchises could come to iPhone, Android later this year

You might soon be able to play God of War or Ratchet & Clank on your smartphone or iPad later this year. According to reports, Sony is “promising” to bring its “iconic IP” to mobile by 2021, as per the recent investor relations presentation. Sony is keen on launching mobile game versions of its key franchises in a move to replicate the success it saw in bringing two big properties to PC last year - Horizon Zero Dawn and Predator - both of which turned out to be profitable, as Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) president and CEO Jim Ryan pointed out.

“In FY21 we will begin to publish some of our iconic PlayStation IP on mobile and we anticipate that in 2021, that will not provide a significant profit flow, but we do anticipate that as we learn from that experience,” Ryan said. “And as we increase the number of titles that we publish on mobile, the contribution from both PC and mobile will start to become steadily more important as time passes,” he added.

This means that the mobile games might come by this year, however, Sony’s fiscal year runs from March 2021 to March 2022 so it is possible that it might also come next year.

Ryan did not mention which of SIE’s “iconic IP” would be coming to mobile, but given Sony brought in Horizon Dawn Zero and Predator to PC last year, the titles coming to mobile could be a mix of exclusive and licensed properties. He had explained in an earlier corporate strategy meeting that the company has had some success in experimenting with mobile games and apps and mobile, in all likelihood, will be one area they will continue to explore.

“PlayStation has a huge catalogue of diverse first-party IP that can transition to smartphone gaming and complement our AAA games or live service games. We are exploring the mobile market with some wonderful PlayStation franchises so please stay tuned,” Ryan said.

We’ll have to wait and watch what SIE might consider being good titles to transition to mobile. New PS5 games like Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart might be a good fit along with other much-awaited games like God of War: Ragnarok. Horizon Forbidden West, Deathloop, etc.