Entertainment company Sony (SONY) saw its stock slip on Thursday following a surprise announcement about Helldivers 2. The game, an exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and PC, will be released on Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox Series X/S on August 26, 2025.
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News of Helldivers 2 coming to Xbox consoles is shocking, as the game was published by PlayStation. Sony doesn’t typically share its exclusives with rival console makers, but hasn’t been against adding them to PC storefronts, such as Steam and the Epic Games Store. However, it has avoided releasing these PC games on the Microsoft Store.
The launch of Helldivers 2 on Xbox should increase the number of players in the game. That’s good news for Sony as it brings in more revenue from sales. Additionally, crossplay has been confirmed, which will allow players on PS5, PC, and Xbox Series consoles to play with each other.
Are Consoles Exclusives a Thing of the Past?
More and more recently, big-name game companies aren’t being as controlling of their releases. Xbox has taken a bold strategy of offering its games on rival consoles, looking to boost game sales more than hardware sales.
Today’s news could be a sign that Sony plans to do the same, breaking down barriers between the big three console makers that have been in place for decades. The one exception to this is Nintendo (NTDOF), which continues to maintain strict control of its games and IP, only allowing them on its own game consoles and occasionally smartphones.
SONY stock was down 0.91% as of Thursday morning but remained up 20.39% year-to-date and 48.06% over the past 12 months.
Is Sony Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Sony is Moderate Buy, based on two Buy and one Hold rating over the past three months. With that comes an average SONY stock price target of $29, representing a potential 13.77% upside for the shares.
