Remember when Sony announced its new PlayStation Plus Premium revamp and promised the top tier would offer limited-time game trials? Well, details were scant at the time, but now we may be learning more.
Game Developer reports on discord among the developer community because apparently the trials will not be optional for makers of high-value games.
Sources speaking to the site say titles that’ll cost more than $34 or more (€33 in Europe, ￥4000 in Japan) are obligated to create trial versions of the game that are at least two-hours long.
That tends to suggest Premium subscribers will get these trials for every major game launching on PlayStation. Indie developers who tend to charge less for the titles won’t need to give away this significant trial the report says.
The report suggests the not everyone in the development community is happy about this carrot being dangled, essentially designed to assist Sony’s efforts to boost subscriptions, rather than increase sales for developers.
The report says:
“Many developers were informed about the new policy via an update to Sony’s developer portal. Our sources indicated they had not received any other communication about this change.”
Game Developer
According to the report, there may be options for developers to submit demo versions of their games instead, but devs will be required to apply to Sony for this privilege. The report says devs don’t have to launch the trials alongside their game and can wait up to three months to do so. They also have to keep them live for 12 months, according to the sources.
Trusted Take
You can understand why certain sections of the developer community might not be too happy about this policy, should it come to fruition. Sometimes all you need is a couple of hours with a game to know it’s not really for you. I’ve had that experience with a couple of Game Pass titles in recent months, for example.
It also means a tonne of extra work for the developers in terms of creating the limited trials. If the trials don’t translate into sales, it’s a lot of work that’s more for Sony’s benefit than the studio itself.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.