The COVID-19 pandemic has been affecting the world for over a year now and global citizens have all turned to the one safe place left: the internet. Whether it be for work, fun, or the basic need to communicate and interact with others, the internet has become the primary method for (almost) all things humans require in this day and age.
With more and more people becoming stir crazy, there has been an increased need for motivation to stay indoors and stay safe and Sony has stepped up to answer that call with the Play At Home initiative.
6 The Initiative Began Last Year
Sony announced its Play At Home initiative just a month after the pandemic hit the United States in March 2020. Gamers could download Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey free of charge or subscription, any time between April 15th and May 5th and be able to keep it forever.
However, this was the extent of their free offers for 2020 and it caused some upset as well. In China and Germany, the free game offer instead was for Knack 2 instead of Uncharted.
5 The Initiative Has Two Parts
Described by Sony as “pillars” of support, the first is to support gamers. The pandemic is challenging for everyone and social distancing can be a struggle. Sony wanted to help ease the burden and (hopefully) help everyone’s mental health with some free entertainment.
The second pillar is intended to help their indie studio partners who may be experiencing financial hardships due to the pandemic. Sony set aside a $10 million fund to help these independent developers. It’s unclear just how long that money will last (or has lasted) or if there will be additional funds in the future for these teams.
4 It’s Totally Free To PlayStation Owners
Normally, free games are only available to PlayStation Plus subscribers who pay a monthly or annual membership fee. They do not get to choose the games and they are only available as long as players continue their subscriptions, though.
The Play At Home initiative is different, thankfully. Anyone who owns a PlayStation can download the offered games for free and keep them forever. This is a nice change of pace and a great treat to PlayStation fans all over, especially since many people are not able to afford a PlayStation Plus subscription amidst the pandemic.
3 The 2021 Version Of The Initiative Is Different Than The 2020 Version
Last year the offerings were short-lived; delightful, but short-lived. The Uncharted: Nathan Drake Collection was, in all fairness, three games, plus the offering of Journey. But this year, Sony has announced they will be releasing free games each month from March until June.
Last year, gamers in China and Germany were very upset with their offering of Knack 2 instead of Uncharted like everyone else, but so far the games for the initiative in 2021 have been equal access for everyone.
2 Downloads May Take Longer
Sony Interactive Entertainment has set a goal to preserve internet access for all due to the “unprecedented number of people…becoming more reliant on internet access.” This means they are working with internet service providers to manage download traffic to help “preserve access for the entire internet community.” This decision began with the internet providers in Europe and was updated later on to reflect that the United States section of Sony Interactive Entertainment would be following suit.
In short, this means sometimes download speeds are slowed, which will obviously affect how soon players can begin experiencing their free games; but it’s all for the greater good.
1 Timelines And Games Announced
Typically, the PlayStation Store gets updated on Tuesdays and the first Tuesday of each month is when the new PlayStation Plus games are available to be claimed, with the initiative offerings falling into a similar timeline. Unlike last year, the initiative for 2021 has been announced to run new offers monthly, from March until June.
So far, only March’s offers are known as they are already available for download now. This month includes a download of Ratchet and Clank and can be downloaded anytime between now and March 31st at 8 pm PT. This was a strategic move on Sony’s part to get their community hyped up for the upcoming installment to the franchise, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart which will be releasing a few months later, in June. In addition to this free game, Sony is offering a 90-day ad-free trial (versus the normal 14-day free trial) of Funimation, a Sony-owned anime streaming service. For gamers in Europe, a 90-day ad-free trial of Wakanim is available instead.
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