No - there is no PS5 and PC cross-buy. But you probably want crossplay anyway.
The direct answer first: buying a game on PS5 does not give you the PC version, and buying it on PC does not give you the PS5 version. There is no mechanism for it. They are two separate storefronts run by two separate companies, and a purchase on one is a licence on that one.
The reason this question gets asked so often, though, is usually not really about owning two copies. It is about a group of friends on different machines wanting to play together - and that does not need cross-buy at all. It needs crossplay, which is free and which most of the games you want already have. If that is your situation, skip to the picks: all four let a PS5 player and a PC player play together, each having bought it once on their own platform.
Three terms that get used interchangeably and mean different things
Almost all the confusion here comes from three words that sound similar. Getting them apart solves the problem.
Crossplay means players on different platforms can be in the same game together. Everyone still buys their own copy on their own platform. This is the one that matters for playing with friends, it is the most widely supported of the three, and it costs nothing extra.
Cross-progression (or cross-save) means your progress, level and unlocks follow your account between platforms. Buy on PS5, play on PC, same character. You may still need to own it on both - this is about the save, not the licence.
Cross-buymeans one purchase entitles you to the game on more than one platform. This is the rare one, and it only exists inside a single company's ecosystem - because only the company selling you the licence can decide to honour it somewhere else.
So: cross-buy across PlayStation and PC would require Sony and Valve to share a purchase, which neither has any reason to do. Cross-buy inside one family of platforms is a different matter.
Where cross-buy genuinely does exist
Xbox and Windows PC, via Xbox Play Anywhere.This is the real thing, and it is the clearest answer available to anyone asking this question. Microsoft's own wording is "buy once, play anywhere": when you own a digital game that supports Xbox Play Anywhere, the ability to play on your Xbox console, Windows 10 or 11 PC and supported handheld is included at no additional charge, and you "pick up where you left off" with your saves, add-ons and achievements carrying across. Microsoft lists over a thousand participating titles. It needs a Microsoft account and a current Windows and console version. Checked October 5, 2026.
Within PlayStation, for cross-generation upgrades. Many PS4 games include or offer a cheap upgrade to their PS5 version. That is cross-buy of a sort, but it is PlayStation-to-PlayStation - it never reaches PC.
Free-to-play games, trivially.If the game is free on both platforms, the entire question dissolves. You install it on each machine, your account carries your items, and nobody buys anything. This is genuinely the cheapest answer to "play with friends across PS5 and PC", and it is covered in full at free crossplay games.
What to check before you buy, if you own two machines
Decide whether you need two copies or just crossplay. This is the question to answer first and it saves most people the money. If you only want to play with friends who are on another platform, you need crossplay and one copy. You only need the game twice if you personally want to play it on both your own machines.
If you do want it on both, check whether it is an Xbox Play Anywhere title. For someone who owns an Xbox and a PC, this is the single most valuable thing on this page - it turns a double purchase into a single one, including the saves.
Check cross-progression separately from crossplay. They are often confused and they are frequently not both present. A game can have full crossplay and no shared saves at all, which means your PS5 character does not exist on PC even if you own both. Diablo IV is listed with full crossplay and cross-progression, and Genshin Impact with crossplay and cross-save - those are the ones that behave the way people expect.
Check whether a platform account is required. Several crossplay games need a publisher-level account to link you across platforms, and that account is what friends you rather than the console. Sea of Thieves requires a Microsoft account even on PS5, for instance. It is free, but it is a step.
