Sony doesn’t seem to like the idea of PC gamers being able to enjoy new titles on the same day that their console friends do. According to leaked files reviewed by researcher and modder AsteriskAmpersand, the Japanese gaming giant offered big bucks to Capcom to delay the announcement and launch date of the PC version of its action role-playing hit, Monster Hunter World, as well as its DLC expansion, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, to ensure that PlayStation owners would be able to enjoy the titles first. Sony’s business decisions also allegedly led to Monster Hunter World and Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s lack of cross-platform play and cross save functionality.
The leaks file Global Meeting_minutes_20190315 confirms Sony paid to have the PC Version of MHW delayed and the announcement of its existence pushed back. They did the same for Iceborne release. They are also the reason crossplay and cross-saves were not enabled.
— AsteriskAmpersand (@AsteriskAmpers1) April 19, 2021
Update:
On more careful reading I misunderstood. SIE deal was limited marketing spenditure to a cap of 30% for IB PC (it does imply there was an outright marketing ban on MHW). However the reference to the SIE deal scope is unknown if strictly Mktng, which I'm looking into.
— AsteriskAmpersand (@AsteriskAmpers1) April 20, 2021
Sources: AsteriskAmpersand, r/pcgaming