PlayStation is rolling out its new PS Plus tiers near the end of next month. For some game developers, it looks like this also comes with an extra clause. If your game has a price above a certain level, you’ll also need to make a limited timed trial for your game.
According to Game Developer, these free trials are supposed to be an extra benefit to subscribers of the PlayStation Plus Premium tier. If a game has a wholesale price of at or above US$34, EUR33 or JPY4000, the game must have a time-limited trial. These must also be at least two hours long.
These requirements are not retroactive, so devs that have already released games at or above those prices don’t have to go back and work on a trial for their already published games. As an aside, devs making VR games are exempt from this.
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The report also states that there’s a three-month grace period after the release of the game for devs to prepare the trial for PS Plus Premium subscribers. In the same vein, these trials need to be available for at least 12 months, meaning they can be retracted after a year. In lieu of trials, devs can also put up demos, but these are subject to case-by-case basis approvals.
It’s probably worth mentioning that this is likely not a benefit that will be available to us in Malaysia. This is because the Premium tier is not available to PS Plus subs here, since it includes the PS Now streaming service that was never made available. But the ramifications will likely still affect us regardless, as game devs need to allocate more resources, including time and money, to make these trials in addition to the game. This could then result in games becoming even more expensive and take longer to release.
(Source: Game Developer)
