During Sony’s State of Play event on 2 June, many games were showcased to gamers. It was an especially good event for VR gamers, as a trailer forHorizon Call of the Mountainwas shown, and it was also revealed thatResident Evil Villagewill be making its way toPS VR2. Plenty of third-party PlayStation games were also shown, including the cute indie gameTunicand the highly anticipatedFinal Fantasy 16. Gamers also got a closer look atStray, a curious game that lets players take control of a cat in a cyberpunk society.
RELATED:Why Stray is a Genius Game
Sony’s Original Stance on Day One Releases on Playstation Plus
Unfortunately, Sony does not seem too keen on the idea of day one releases on PlayStation Plus. According toSony Interactive Entertainment CEO and president Jim Ryan, PlayStation has no plans for day one releases on PS Plus because it believes it would hurt the quality of its games due to the level of investment its studios need to make games. However, Ryan was also careful to note that he is open to changing his mind, and he stated the following: “the way our publishing model works right now, it doesn’t make any sense. But things can change very quickly in this industry, as we all know.”
Third-Party Studios May See Opportunities Where Sony Does Not
Sony’s reluctance to launch games onPlayStation Plusstems from fears that it may hurt sales, reducing the ability for games to make back what studios have invested in them. This is an understandable stance to take when some of the most expensive games in modern times can cost up to half a billion dollars to develop and market. However, for smaller third-party developers, making games available on PlayStation Plus on day one may be a golden opportunity.
Within a day of launching,Fall Guyshad over 1.5 million players, and by the end of the month, it was the most downloaded PS Plus game of all time. Although Mediatonic may have missed out on potential sales by releasing the game on PS Plus, the sheer amount of exposure the game received more than makes up for it.Stray, which is also a smaller game, could also benefit from being released on PS Plus where it could gain popularity through word-of-mouth. Its release on PS Plus also hints that while it is unlikely that Sony will release its first-party games on its streaming service on day one, there may be third-party studios who will be willing to do it.
Although it is a smaller title,Strayhas managed to grab the attention of gamers thanks to its unique premise. However, as a relatively small game from a small studio, it is very easy for it to fall into obscurity when there are so many big games being released in 2022.By launching on PS Plus,Straymay get the chance to be enjoyed by a wider range of gamers who might have otherwise missed the game completely.
Strayis scheduled to release on 18 June 2025 on PC, PS4, and P5.
