PS5 Will Give Every PlayStation Game A Free Demo, Rumor Suggests
While much of the hype regarding the upcoming release of Sony’s PlayStation 5 console has been centered on things like specialized solid state drives, custom AMD GPUs, ray tracing, and backward compatibility, a rumored new feature for the system has the potential to be a game-changer. According to a possible leak on Twitter, as relayed by GameRant, the PS5 may actually give users the ability to download and try out every game in the PlayStation Store for free before they actually make purchases.
Furthermore, it is being reported that this kind of demo would be likely required for all digital releases on the console.
The source of the rumor appears to be a post from the Twitter account ConsoleTime, which has shed light on some possible changes to the PlayStation Store’s interface. In the Thursday tweet, it was reported that the new interface will allow gamers to browse and try every game instantly, without having to fully download anything — as has been the case with digital game demos traditionally.
As noted by GameRant, games would be playable within seconds for those looking to sample new titles. They would then download them later upon purchase.
Although this should be considered a rumor at this juncture and taken with a grain of salt, there is some precedence for the concept of being able to try out every game for free before one buys. For example, the Ouya system — which became a sensation on Kickstarter in 2013 as a hackable, open-source micro-console — initially featured a “Free the Games!” tag line and offered players the ability to play free demo versions of all of its available titles.
That console ultimately failed in spite of the initial interest that it generated as a crowd-funded project. Clearly, the PS5 is already a headlining system for the next generation of video game consoles, which would preclude it from suffering a similar fate.
As a result, free trial periods for all games on the PS5 could potentially become a new trend industry-wide and represent an evolution in how developers, publishers, and console-makers like Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft market software, should the rumor prove to be true.
Whether all games will be made free-to-try on PS5 or not, there’s no doubting that there are already a slew of highly anticipated titles set to release on the console. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is just one of those games, and God of War director Cory Barlog has given his blessing to the game’s viking setting, despite being similar to that of his recent entry into that series.
