Portal Game Developer (Gamasutra until August 2021), citing its own sources , announced a new requirement that appeared from Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to some developers of games for PlayStation consoles.

Image Source: Steam

According to Game Developer, the Japanese platform owner has begun notifying developers of its plans to include time-limited game trials as part of the upcoming PlayStation Plus Premium subscription.

Developers of games worth $34/€33/¥4,000 or more will reportedly now be required to create such “probes” of their projects. Already released, cheaper or VR-oriented products are not subject to the SIE requirement.

The trial version must be at least two hours long and released within three months of the game’s release. Temporary demos will only be available to PS Plus Premium subscribers for at least 12 months.

The new SIE policy will affect mid-sized games like GreedFall and Kena: Bridge of Spirits (image source: Ember Lab)

However, there is an alternative: instead of temporary trials, game creators can offer specially designed demos to SIE, but they will have to receive separate approval.

According to Game Developer, the new SIE policy will not make life too difficult for large publishers, but it will cause problems for small studios with the distribution of already limited resources.

An updated version of PlayStation Plus with three tariffs instead of one is planned to be launched from the end of May. On the territory of European countries, access to the service is going to be opened on June 22.