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Sword of the Sea ranks among our top PS5 picks this year — yet without locking in a PS Plus partnership with Sony, developer Giant Squid might have faced a near-catastrophe.
In a riveting new chat with GamesIndustry.biz, studio co-founder Matt Nava shares eye-opening details on how Sword of the Sea landed in PlayStation’s subscription catalogue, stressing that Sony’s support proved crucial in shipping the highly praised project.
Midway through production, Giant Squid required fresh capital to keep momentum alive, and the PlayStation Indies initiative turned out to be the lifeline.
“It’s simply amazing that Sony maintains a setup like this,” Nava remarks. “This massive, influential corporation houses a team that genuinely champions the creative side of gaming.”
PlayStation Indies supplies both monetary aid and developmental guidance to creators that catch Sony’s eye — yet that help naturally comes with strings attached.
For Giant Squid, the accord — or at least a segment of it — meant launching Sword of the Sea straight into PS Plus Extra, padding August’s roster of downloadable titles.
Nava admits he had to balance the pros and cons: “Sure, you’re handing the title gratis to hordes of existing subscribers. Conversely, far bigger audiences dive in — you drum up vastly more exposure, and that carries enormous worth.”
Across roughly the past two years, observers have hotly debated whether platforms such as PS Plus and Game Pass genuinely aid the industry and the studios feeding them content.
Game Pass especially has drawn flak for promoting an allegedly unstable framework, yet Nava insists Sword of the Sea would never have reached completion without Sony and its PS Plus proposal.
“That backing was a godsend, because the added oversight let us cross the finish line,” he notes. “We pulled off daring hacks and slipped in last-minute patches. Honestly, it rescued the entire project.”
Are you pleased Giant Squid accepted Sony’s offer? How do you feel about Sword of the Sea? Show us your slickest surfsword stunts down in the comments.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Robert (Rob for the brief) serves as deputy editor at Push Square and has adored PlayStation since the 90s, when Tekken 2 dragged him head-first into the dazzling realm of gaming. He still treats fighters with reverence, yet RPGs own his heart. The Witcher, Persona, Dragon Quest, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Trails, Tales — he’s devoured them all. Perhaps excessively, critics might argue.