Shuhei Yoshida Discusses PlayStation's Ongoing Efforts to Support Indie Developers

It has been over two years since Sony launched its PlayStation Indies initiative, aiming to better support and promote independent game developers on its platforms. The initiative's leader, Shuhei Yoshida, recently discussed the project's progress and goals in an interview. Yoshida emphasized that the initiative was already in the planning stages when he joined, driven by a desire to make PlayStation the best place for indie game development, discovery, and play. In the early days of the PS4, PlayStation was known for promoting indie developers and games. However, the company shifted its focus towards AAA titles in 2018 and 2019. Sony Interactive Entertainment president and CEO Jim Ryan wanted to change this, and in mid-2019, he asked Michael Pattison to come up with a plan to reinvigorate efforts to support indie publishers and developers. Yoshida was brought on board to help with these efforts, and around the same time, Sony recruited Greg Rice, a former Double Fine executive, to join the team. In January 2020, Yoshida presented the plan to Sony management, outlining the company's vision for better supporting indies and the resources needed to achieve this goal. A key priority for Yoshida was finding ways to promote indie games on PlayStation, curating the best titles and showcasing them to consumers. However, with hundreds of games being published every year, the company needed to improve its systems and support for developers. To address this, PlayStation has made its gaming operations more globalized, reducing the complexity of submitting games to different regions. The company has also introduced new tools for developers, including analytics to help them understand sales, revenue, and engagement. Yoshida acknowledged that some developers may not be familiar with these analytics, so the company is working on training and Q&A sessions to make the tools more accessible. Additionally, Sony has introduced a voucher system to help indies deploy codes for games to journalists, testers, or friends, and has provided support through its media channels, such as the PlayStation Blog and social media accounts. The PlayStation Indies initiative was announced in July 2020, showcasing nine titles heading to the PS5. Since then, Sony has included indie games in its State of Play presentations and separate indie-focused announcements. Yoshida noted that the company has been doing indie showcases several times a year, which have received significant media coverage. The PlayStation Store has also seen innovations, such as the introduction of wishlists, which allow players to set up notifications for upcoming titles. Yoshida recognized the value of this feature, particularly for indies, and is working to communicate its availability to publishers. Indies have also been taken into account with the revamp of PlayStation Plus, with Yoshida aiming to include indie games that Sony can wholeheartedly recommend to subscribers. The Extra tier offers around 100 high-quality indie games, and the team is constantly looking for new additions. Yoshida discussed the inclusion of Stray, a feline adventure game, in the new PlayStation Plus, which was available at launch for Extra and Premium subscribers. He noted that this move was experimental but contributed to the game's success. Yoshida expects indies to play a crucial role in the success of the upcoming PlayStation VR 2, as they have been waiting to make VR games for years. While the VR market is still small, it is growing, and Yoshida believes that indies will take risks to create innovative VR experiences. He noted that after a difficult period for VR, innovative indie developers and publishers continued to experiment with the technology, releasing new games and curating knowledge and experience. With the return of investment in VR, Yoshida expects to see great VR games coming out from re-energized studios. PlayStation will continue its mission to support indies through new tools and promotions, and Yoshida is keen to discover future hits as early as possible. The company is big fans of seeing games early and likes indie publishers to show them games in the conceptual stage, starting communication and exploring opportunities for support and promotion.