Sony Aims to be More Inviting to Developers with PlayStation 4

VP Publisher & Developer Relations explains Sony’s approach to securing indie and AAA developers for PlayStation 4.

With the release date of the PlayStation 4 inching ever closer, the topic of playable titles comes to mind, and Sony wants to assure you that it is actively making changes to become more appealing to developers. SCEA’s Vice President of Publisher and Developer Relations Adam Boyes spoke with Game Informer about internal changes in Sony and the mindset of creating a more inviting program for developers with the PlayStation 4. These changes, including internal reorganization to flesh out the Developer Relations team and partnering with large-scale publishers, were implemented to entice both independent and AAA developers to the PlayStation 4.

In his video, Adam Boyes explains the processes within Sony for developer relations, including “pub funding” that allows internal teams to support titles or developers they believe in as well as account management for studios that wish to develop for PlayStation 4.

Boyes explains further that developers will be allowed to self publish on the PlayStation 4 and that Sony’s internal teams are ready to support developers that choose to self publish. He also states that developers engaging in “pub funding” are linked with other “pub funded” developers in an effort to provide as much information and honest discourse as possible.

As for larger scale studios and titles such as The Elder Scrolls Online, Boyes explains that while there had not originally been a plan to bring certain games to console, the development of a plan for this purpose was put in place after his arrival. “Knowing that a game’s coming to console that was never going to come to console is the kind of stuff that is…hugely awesome,” says Boyes.

Boyes’ openness about obtaining developers for the PlayStation 4 lends to some interesting titles in the works for this platform, though I personally am excited to see a push for more indie development. AAA developers Blizzard and Bethesda will be offering titles for the PS4 alongside indie devs 17-Bit and Tequila Works, among others.

Source: Game Informer