Sony announces $10M fund to help indie game developers impacted by COVID-19

Published April 14, 2020

Though more people are stuck at home with their PCs and gaming consoles, times are still tough for small indie game developers that are often dependent on gaming conferences to both promote their titles and source investments and publishing deals.

Today, Sony announced they had earmarked $10 million for a fund dedicated to helping indie game developers that have seen negative impacts from the pandemic crisis. Earlier this month, Sony announced they had formed a $100 million fund dedicated to COVID-19 relief, though that fund was more explicitly focused on healthcare workers and remote education.

Sony didn’t share much in the way of details around the fund, noting that more details would be available soon. Alongside the fund’s announcement, Sony shared that in order to encourage more PlayStation users to stay indoors, they were making both Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey available as free digital downloads on their digital store. The two bits of news are forming the basis for what PlayStation calls its “Play at Home Initiative.”

The titles will be available for free downloads from April 15 through May 5.