Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered recently launch on PC through Steam, and now dataminers have discovered some references to a PSN account linking feature, which could be a possible hint at an upcoming exclusive PlayStation PC launcher.
Earlier this year, Nick Baker from XboxEra claimed that Sony is planning to release an exclusive launcher on PC for its own titles, and now, a number of direct references to a PlayStation PC launcher have been discovered in Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered files, which have recently been verified by VGC reporters.
The files also refer to a feature where players can link their PC and PSN accounts. Knowing that there is no such feature on Steam at the moment, this probably means that Sony is looking to allow PC players to make their purchase on PSN, despite playing the games on PC.
In theory, this is a cross-buy feature, similar to that of Microsoft called "Xbox Play Anywhere," which allows players to buy a Microsoft first-party title once and play it on both a PC or an Xbox console using a single account. That being said, it remains unknown whether Sony would allow players to play their games on PC and PS5 with a single purchase, as the company already charges up to $10 for upgrading games from PS4 to PS5.
The other question that comes to mind is the fact that whether Sony would be leaving Steam to launch the first-party titles exclusively on the PlayStation PC launcher, or will give the community the freedom to choose their favorite platform.
Sony has recently shown more interest in the PC market and already targets to launch more of its first-party console-exclusive titles on PC. That being said, it's yet to be seen whether the timed-exclusivity lock will be broken in the future or not. Currently, all first-party PlayStation titles come to PC with a significant delay compared to the console version.
Regarding the fact that Steam earns up to 30% of game sales, Sony could significantly increase its PC revenue if it launches its own launcher. An integration to PSN could even mean more opportunities for Sony if the Japanese publisher allows access to services such as PS Plus on PC as well.
Keep in mind that Sony has not officially revealed anything about a PlayStation PC launcher, which means you need to take it with a grain of salt for now.