Sony has started communicating with developers about its plans to offer timed game trials to PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers. According to sources who spoke with Game Developer, developers developing games priced at $34 or more (€33 in Europe and 4,000 yen in Japan) will now need to create limited-time game trials for their games. These trials must be at least two hours long.
Under the new policy, games that cost less than these amounts don’t need to create limited-time trials. The plan follows Sony’s announcement to expand PlayStation Plus subscription options.
Many developers were informed of the new policy by updating the Sony Developer Portal. Our sources stated that they have not received any other communications regarding this change.
The good news is that these requirements are not retroactive and do not apply to upcoming PlayStation VR games. The not-so-good news is that if you’re a developer planning a future release on the PlayStation Store, you’ll now need to budget for the time and resources to create these new timed trials.
As part of Sony’s policy, there is some flexibility. Developers can release their limited-time trials within three months of the game’s launch on the PlayStation Store. PlayStation Plus Premium users also only need to try it out for at least 12 months.
Sony is also willing to release custom game demos rather than limited-time game trials, but these will only be approved on a case-by-case basis. Developers are also free to publish free weekends, game trials or custom demos accessible to all PlayStation owners.
The new policy appears to be a mixed bag for all developers planning to release on the PlayStation. On the one hand, a large publisher like Activision Blizzard, 2K Games, or Sony’s in-house studios may have the resources to create these limited-time game trials and benefit from a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription.
On the other hand, if your game costs just over $34, you’re probably using fewer resources than your competitors, and two hours could be a significant part of your game’s content. Savvy developers can maximize the chances of acquiring new players with these trials, but end up with no commitment to pay, potentially risking a lot of work for a limited return.
A scan of the PlayStation Store shows that few games are strictly sitting at the $34 mark, so the group of developers most affected by the policy are those released at the $39.99 level.Many single-player games from mid-sized developers dominate this list, including spider studio greed and depravityAsobo A Plague Tale: Innocenceand Ember Lab’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
Game demos have seen a resurgence over the past few years, from “prologue” releases on Steam to limited-time demos offered at events like the Summer Game Fest or Valve’s seasonal Steam Game Fest. Interestingly, Sony has revived them as a tier of (relatively) high subscribers.
As of press time, Sony has not responded to our inquiries about its new policy. We’ll update our story if they get back to us.