Although Sony's PlayStation consoles are more well-known for their lavish AAA exclusive titles, the company is still aware that indie games still play an important part in filling out its rosters. To support and feature independent developers, Sony is announcing a new program for indie games on its PS4 and PS5 consoles.
Sony unveiled the PlayStation Indies initiative in a recent blog post written by the Indies head, Shuhei Yoshida. In the announcement, Yoshida revealed that Sony will announce the first nine PlayStation Indies over the course of this morning. At the time of publication, announcements for six of the nine new games have appeared.
According to the PlayStation Blog post, Yoshida has been working with Sony on the Indies initiative since November 2019. Like the Switch's Nindies program, the PlayStation Indies want to "spotlight and support the best... indie games on PlayStation" and the larger indie community. Currently, Creaks (PS4), F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch (PS4), Heavenly Bodies (PS4 and PS5), Maquette (PS4 and PS5), Recompile (PS5) and Where The Heart Is (PS4) are the initiative's first games.
Citing the expensive productions behind many recent AAA games, Yoshida praised indie games and called them "important for the future of the video game industry." Sony was also inspired to create this program after the positive reception to other indie titles at its PS5 Future of Gaming event. While highlighting Sony's history of publishing unique games like LittleBigPlanet and Katamari Damacy, the Indies head also teased a monthly indie release to the PlayStation Now subscription service, starting this month with Hello Neighbor. More specific details about the program are currently "forthcoming."
With the upcoming launch of the PlayStation 5, Sony is making a smart decision to complement its existing launch lineup and make its new console more appealing. Although some observers pointed out that the company could be following in the footsteps of Nintendo and Microsoft, PlayStation enthusiasts reminded them that Sony has a history of supporting independent developers during the PlayStation 4's lifetime. Regardless, the PlayStation Indies program could be another helpful opportunity for promising indie games. However, until more specific information about the initiative is released, developers will likely consider all the opportunities at their disposal.
Source: PlayStationBlog
