In the world of gaming, it can be overwhelming at times to choose the right console for oneself when there are so many new games that get constantly developed. Luckily, with new additions to the cross-platform games list, this choice doesn't have to be as hard as one might think.
As part of recent new developments in the Epic vs. Apple Lawsuit, it has come out that Sony actually charges developers royalties for crossplay at a certain point. Once the proportion of the game's revenue share divided by the PS4 gameplay share hits below 85%, developers are charged the missing percentage to offset the difference.
The practice of console-exclusive games is nothing new, and in fact, it typically helps create a healthy competitive atmosphere in the industry to make better products for gamers. However, Sony's specific method can be viewed by some as predatorial and alienates smaller studios from sharing its products with a wider audience.
In the confidential leaked image, there is an example of how Sony's payment system works. During one month of a game's release, if the total revenue equals out to $1 million and Sony makes about 90% of the total profits over the competitors and 95% of the gameplay share, the developers are not charged. In the second month, if the game makes the same amount of money and has the same percentage of gameplay share, but Sony only makes 60% of the shared revenue, Sony subtracts its revenue share from its overall gameplay share and multiples that amount by 15%. Which, in the example, comes out to around $52,500 that the studio will have to pay Sony out of pocket.
Luckily, developers are not charged by Sony royalties whenever the PSN revenue share is higher than the 85% total revenue amount. The company requires the individual studio to send monthly reports to each different Sony territory the total amount of the revenue share. And if the individual studio is below 85%, it will be required to pay the respective Sony location the requested amount within 30 days. Additionally, the agreement allows Sony to audit the individual studio's record storage concerning Cross-Platform Revenue Share if it feels that there is a violation.
The date on the leaked image dates back to 2019, so there could be a change in policy that the public does not know about. At the moment, there is no word about Sony's response to the issue or what it will do moving forward. Ideally, some compromise will be reached where Sony can balance healthy competition and fairness towards other companies.
Source: Resetera
