Sony has explained why many of the original PlayStation 5 exclusives have become cross-gen, also releasing on PS4. Originally, Sony had pushed the idea that it was focusing on the potential of the PS5 hardware with its games, which meant leaving the PS4 behind.
It's common for games to be cross-gen during the first few years of a new system's lifespan. There are even some games that can cross multiple generations, as Just Dance 2020 proved by being the last ever Nintendo Wii game while still appearing on modern consoles. It's common for movie tie-ins (especially animated ones) and games based on major sporting events to release across as many platforms as possible, regardless of the age of the hardware. The jump from the PS3/Xbox 360 to PS4/Xbox One had lots of titles that became cross-gen at a late date, such as Dragon Age: Inquisition, as the developers wanted to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Sony heavily promoted some PS5 titles as exclusives during the presentations that took place before the console was released. It didn't take long for Sony to backtrack, with Horizon: Forbidden West, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales becoming cross-gen titles. Miles Morales and Sackboy made sense, as there were already concerns about PS5 stock shortages and Sony wanted as many people to buy those games as possible, but after a few more high-profile games became cross-gen titles, Sony offered a reason why the PS5 was losing exclusives.
Sony Has 110+ Million Reasons Not To Leave The PS4
There didn't seem to be as much logic behind Sony's announcement of cross-gen versions of God of War 2 and Gran Turismo 7, as those games aren't coming out until 2022, by which time there should be a much bigger PS5 audience. But when Hermen Hulst, head of PlayStation Studios, broke the news about the cross-gen versions of those games on the PlayStation Blog, he offered the explanation that there are over 110 million PS4 users in the world and it doesn't make good business sense to leave them behind. The PS5 would still receive games that show off the tech, like Returnal and Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, but Sony will continue to cater to the PS4 audience for the time being.
This is a stark change in direction from earlier statements by Sony's Jim Ryan, considering he once told GamesIndustry.biz he believes in the dynamic of console generations and that companies should be creating games that make the most of new console features. It's hard to argue with the logic of catering to the massive PS4 audience, but it does raise questions about how Sony is going to treat its exclusives going forward. If the company is keeping one eye on what can be achieved with the base PS4 model from 2013, then can current-gen games really be designed to show what the PlayStation 5 is capable of?
Source: PlayStation Blog, GamesIndustry.biz