Sony announced its Play At Home Campaign today, a new initiative to help keep people entertained at home and support independent developers. The first part is all about encouraging people to stay at home, with two free game offers, while the second is a fund to help keep smaller indie studios in operation during these difficult times.
The Play At Home free games are Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey (unless you live in Germany or China, where you’ll get Knack 2 and Journey). These will be available as digital downloads from April 15 at 8 p.m. PDT/11 p.m. EST through May 5 at the same time.
Because Sony is also trying to help keep the Internet from being overwhelmed, downloads may take longer than usual.
The Uncharted collection includes the first three games in the series:
If — for some insane reason — you haven’t heard of Uncharted before, it’s basically Indiana Jones meets Tomb Raider with Naughty Dog’s signature action style.
Journey is an acclaimed indie title with a Grammy-nominated soundtrack that tasks you with exploring a vast, beautiful world. It’s completely wordless and tells the story entirely through visuals.
Part two of Play At Home is all about a fund Sony Interactive Entertainment is establishing for indie developers. At this time, SIE plans to contribute $10 million for indie support and plans to reveal more information soon.
Sony specifically uses the phrasing “our independent development partners,” so whether this fund is only for studios affiliated with Sony remains to be seen.
Either way, it’s nice to see something being done outside the International Game Developers Association’s efforts. It’s likely indie devs are facing a good deal of strain in the wake of canceled events like GDC and E3 2020, events that normally would have boosted awareness and partnership opportunities for indies.
The full announcement is over on the PlayStation Blog. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Play At Home news as it develops.
