According to GameSpot, new “Cross-Buy” system images have been spotted on the PlayStation Store, suggesting Sony might be reviving a feature last seen during the PS Vita era. The graphics were discovered by Amethxst on X and verified by reliable leaker Dealabs, who noted Sony actually added these Cross-Buy tags back in June 2025. While Sony’s exact definition remains unknown, Microsoft already offers a similar cross-buy feature where Xbox games can be played on PC and compatible handhelds. This development coincides with Sony making more first-party games available on PC after PS5 exclusivity periods and rumors of a PS5 Portable handheld in development. Meanwhile, PS Portal owners just received a major update with cloud streaming now available to all PS Plus Premium subscribers, expanding the game library to nearly 3,000 titles.
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What’s Sony cooking up here?
Look, this is interesting timing. Sony’s been slowly but steadily bringing its big exclusives to PC—we’re talking games like God of War and Spider-Man hitting Steam after their PlayStation runs. But they’ve always been separate purchases. A true cross-buy system would be a game-changer.
Here’s the thing: Microsoft has been doing this for years with Play Anywhere. Buy once, play on Xbox or PC. It’s one of their smartest ecosystem plays. Sony watching from the sidelines all this time? Probably feeling the pressure as gaming becomes more platform-agnostic.
The handheld angle makes sense
With all the rumors about a proper PS5 Portable—not just the streaming-only Portal—cross-buy becomes way more compelling. Remember the PS Vita days? That was Sony’s last cross-buy play, and honestly, it was pretty consumer-friendly. Buy a game once, get both PS3 and Vita versions.
Basically, if Sony’s serious about competing in the handheld space against Steam Deck and others, they need something like this. Nobody wants to triple-dip on games across home console, PC, and portable.
Why this matters beyond convenience
So what’s the business play here? It’s about locking people into the PlayStation ecosystem. If you buy a game once and can play it on your PS5, your potential future handheld, AND your PC? That’s sticky. Really sticky.
And let’s talk about that Amethxst leak and Dealabs verification. These tags have been sitting there since June? That suggests Sony’s been planning this for a while, maybe waiting for the right hardware and software alignment.
I’m curious how they’ll handle this. Will it be all first-party titles? Third-party partnerships? Subscription benefits? The fact that they’re testing the infrastructure now tells me we’ll probably see something concrete around whenever that rumored handheld materializes.
Playing catch-up in a multi-platform world
Microsoft’s been ahead on this front for ages. Nintendo sort of does it with Switch—buy once, play on TV or portable—but that’s the same hardware family. Sony would be bridging completely different platforms.
This could actually be smart timing. The lines between console, PC, and handheld are blurring fast. If Sony can offer genuine cross-buy before their next hardware cycle, they might just convince people to stay in their ecosystem rather than jumping to whatever looks shiniest.
But we’ve been burned by Sony rumors before. Remember all the “PS5 Pro is definitely coming next month” chatter? I’ll believe this cross-buy revival when I see actual games with the feature live on the store.
