14 DAY TRIAL // It looks like Sony is drawing a distinctive line between triple-A and indie titles with the launch of a new initiative fully dedicated to the latter. Shuhei Yoshida has just announced the so-called PlayStation Indies project, an effort meant to elevate indie developers and make their titles shine in a super competitive industry.
But Sony went beyond just announcing the name of the initiative and revealed the first nine games that are part of the PlayStation Initiative program. These games will be launched on either PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5, but some of them may be available on both platforms at some point.
“I’m pleased to formally announce the PlayStation Indies initiative. With PlayStation Indies, we hope to spotlight and support the best of the best indie games being published on PlayStation and the entire indie community as a whole. Our goal is to make PlayStation the best place to develop, find, and play great indie games,” said Shuhei Yoshida, Head of PlayStation Indies, SIE.
The following indie titles have been confirmed to arrive on Sony's PlayStation consoles via PlayStation Indies initiative: Carto, Creaks, F.I.S.T: Forged In Shadow Torch, Heavenly Bodies, Marquette, Recompile, Worms Rumble, and Where the Heart Is. Of course, as Sony finds new worthy titles for the PlayStation Indies program, they will be added to the lineup and revealed to the world.
Another interesting piece of information announced by Sony is that a new indie title will join the PlayStation Now service every month. The first to be added to the service in July is Hello Neighbor, a game that made its debut on PC and consoles three years ago.
“The indie community is increasingly important for the future of the video game industry, as AAA game development has grown so financially demanding that big companies are finding it harder to take risks to invest in new concepts that may or may not work. We trust indie developers with strong vision will continue to bring ideas that have never been tried before, creating whole new genres of games and advancing the art and meaning of video games,” added Yoshida.