A "Cross-Buy" icon recently appeared on the PlayStation Store, fueling speculation that Sony may soon enable players to purchase games once and play them across both consoles and PC.
Social media user Amethxst first noticed references to a "crossbuy-tag" within the PlayStation Store, alongside a PS5 store graphic displaying the term "Cross-Buy." These findings were later investigated by Dealabs.
Dealabs has since verified the legitimacy of both the store code and the image, confirming—at the very least—that Sony is actively exploring some form of Cross-Buy program.
New Symbols will be added soon (website & tool), but here some nice new features from PlayStation (yes, some are old, other are unseen):
— Amethxst (@yAmethxst) November 4, 2025
- A kind of "echo mode"
- PS5/PC games
- "Cross-Buy" pic.twitter.com/YxIAXp750g
Exactly how this feature will function is still unclear. Would Cross-Buy apply only to first-party titles already available on PC? Would future PC releases be included automatically? And what role might third-party games play?
In fact, there’s still no official confirmation that Cross-Buy is intended for PC compatibility. With recent talk of a new PlayStation handheld in development, it's possible the feature could simply cover games playable across PS5 and a future portable device.
One thing appears certain, however: the images themselves are reportedly new. According to Dealabs, Sony uploaded them as recently as June 2025. This suggests the initiative is unrelated to earlier cross-buy efforts—such as those from the PlayStation Vita era.
Microsoft already offers a form of cross-buy through Xbox Play Anywhere, allowing gamers to buy a title once and enjoy it on both console and PC—or stream it via phones or handhelds like the Ally X.
Sony, by contrast, has historically been more guarded with its first-party releases. While Horizon Zero Dawn made its way to PC in 2020—three years after its PS4 debut—the company has typically delayed PC versions of its biggest blockbusters by at least a year following their console launch.
Microsoft's Phil Spencer has previously criticized Sony’s staggered PC launch strategy, arguing that it forces players to wait—and often pay again—for the same content. Sony has defended its approach, with former PlayStation chief Jim Ryan stating in 2023 that phased PC releases would continue for the foreseeable future.
