Earlier this month, former SIE Worldwide Studios chairman Shawn Layden said the still-ongoing flailing at Xbox "evince a basic misunderstanding of how the interactive entertainment world moves." Harsh words indeed—but lest you think he's just a partisan hater, he's now taken aim at his former company, Sony, and its pullback from the PC market.

It's been quite a turnaround from Sony. After years of dogged exclusivity, Sony began releasing its games on PC to significant success—to the point that Shuhei Yoshida, also a former SIE Worldwide Studios boss, said it was "almost like printing money."

But earlier this year, Sony began backing away from the strategy, and while no formal announcement was ever made, it soon became clear that a PC pullback is happening.

Layden, who also previously served as president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America and executive vice president and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International, addressed the shift in a new interview with PSI, beginning by noting that in his mind, at least, bringing Sony games to PC was never about making money—it was about getting Sony properties in front of people who otherwise wouldn't see it.

"Not necessarily because they're going to buy a PlayStation," Layden said. "I wasn't that crazy. I didn't think that was going to happen.

"But as we take our intellectual property across other media, whether it's into films or whether it's in television or in comic books or into merchandise, whatever, you need to have as many eyeballs that are aware of this character, of this story, and just concentrating on the PlayStation population and only telling them these stories, and then try to bring it off of that platform into different media, that's going to be a hell of a jump."

While some have suggested that releasing PlayStation games on PC could "devalue" the brand, Layden says the strategy of holding them back for a year or so effectively addresses that concern: "I think if someone's waiting 18 months for something to come on PC, we didn't lose a sale to them. They weren't going to buy the hardware anyway."

"If it's a way to cover costs or the burden of making a port, there is some money attached to that, or the distraction or whatever," Layden said. "I don't know what they're thinking."

I don't either, but I do think it's interesting that we seem to be moving inexorably into a new round of the console wars: Microsoft has indicated that it's also looking at leaning more heavily on console exclusives in order to resuscitate the flagging Xbox brand. In that case, though, the impact on PC gamers should be minimal: Microsoft chief content officer Matt Booty said earlier this month that Xbox exclusives will "still show up on all the normal places where we sell the PC version."

The material impact of the PlayStation PC pullback is also debatable: PC Gamer's Morgan Park recently reminded that in the short term, at least, we're not likely to miss out on very much.

Here's another fact not to be overlooked: Unlike the ignominious dark days of "PC gaming is dying," PC gaming has never been stronger than it is right now. While year-over-year console revenue growth was close to stagnant, according to a Global Games Market Report published earlier in June, PC revenues leapt by 12%, powering the market past $200 billion in a single year for the first time. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says PC gamers have to wait for Grand Theft Auto 6 because we're not part of its "core" audience, but he also admits that PC can account for 45-50% of a big game's total sales. I have no idea how to square that either, but I definitely agree with Layden: Bringing Sony games to PC made sense, and taking them away just does not..

Obsession has officially surpassed Sinners to be the highest-grossing original film of the decade so far, and it's a good time to be a horror fan.

Obsession, written and directed by Curry Barker, follows a dude who sucks named Bear (Michael Johnston) who buys a novelty wishing branch and wishes for his crush, Nikki (Indie Navarette), to love him more than anything in the world. The wish works, but something takes over Nikki... and she spends the rest of the movie fighting whatever it is in the most violent way.

The movie was made for roughly $750,00, and has earned around $371 million (via Forbes) at the global box office. The cast includes Cooper Tomlinson, Andy Richter, Megan Lawless, Haley Fitzgerald, and Darin Toonder.

Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, earned $370.3 million worldwide against a budget of $90 million. The film also took home four out of a whopping 16 Oscar nominations, which also made it the most Oscar-nominated movie in history.

"I don’t want to go straight into Obsession 2," Barker said to The Hollywood Reporter, when asked if the movie will turn into a franchise. "I have such a cool idea for it that I won’t say. I’m not saying it has to be five, six years from now. But I think people would be just as excited for it if it came a little down the road. It’s a whirlwind, and I’m trying to figure it out."

Obsession is still in theaters. Sinners is streaming now on HBO Max. For more, check out our guide to the best horror movies, and keep up with other exciting upcoming horror movies on the way.

On June 24, 2025, Cygames released Umamusume: Pretty Derby on Steam, tasking players with scouting, training, and managing the racing careers of the titular umamusume—horse girls born for the singular pursuit of speed.

Next month—just over a year later—developer Blue Bullet is releasing its own fantastical take on the storied tradition of umamusume racing with Full Stride, a jockey racing simulator that reimagines the expected horse girls as normal horses. You know, the kind that in our world spend their time doing things like eating roughage and unsettling passersby with their inscrutable auras. How quaint!

"Feel the tension as the gates open, fight for position within the pack, decide when to make your move, and experience the thrill of a head-to-head battle down the final stretch," Blue Bullet says in the Steam description, seemingly promising that players and their hoses will experience the thrill that before has been the exclusive privilege of elaborately costumed anime girls.

Evidently, it won't be enough to just drive your horse as fast as possible. Blue Bullet says victory won't be achievable if you neglect to consider a horse's racing style, stamina, sprint aptitude, pace, and preferred distance—just as an umamusume trainer would be foolish to enter Haru Urara in a late-career turf races without a diligent training regimen to break her reliance on dirt tracks.

There will also be a photo mode, allowing the player to really savor the almost dreamlike absurdity of a crowd gathering to see if their favorite horse goes fast. It's a high-concept idea, but if executed capably, there could be some real promise to it.

As long as nobody bets on anything. I can't imagine that would end well for anyone.

Full Stride launches on July 16, 2026. You can wishlist it on Steam now.