Starting April 15 and running through May 5, Sony (SONY 0.31%) will allow PlayStation owners to digitally download Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey for free. The company says once the player downloads, "they are yours to keep."
The giveaway is part of Sony's new Play at Home initiative. In a statement on the PlayStation blog, the company said it serves "as a thank you to all who are doing their part to lessen the impact of this pandemic."
Image source: Getty Images.
The video game industry is enjoying strong momentum
It's a nice gift for PlayStation owners, since the Uncharted series is one of the most popular titles available on Sony's PlayStation. It's also a way for Sony to stoke the fire of surging game sales right now and keep players engaged with their PlayStation.
Additionally, Sony announced it was setting aside $10 million to support independent game developers. In a statement, Sony said, "Independent developers are vital to the heart and soul of the gaming community and we understand the hardships and financial struggles that many smaller gaming studios are facing."
Image source: Sony.
The video game industry has been doing well through this crisis, especially with schools closed and with sales of games and add-on content sold digitally through game consoles.
Sony said it expects "no material impact" on its gaming business for fiscal 2019 (which ends in March), as stated in a business update on March 27. The gaming segment is one of Sony's largest, making up about 25% of total revenue. However, the company is "carefully monitoring the risk of delays in production schedules for game software titles," which generate the bulk of profits for the segment.
