COVID-19 Just Got a Little Easier to Deal With
This past year has been unlike any other with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Sony has recognized this. In a new blog post, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO, Jim Ryan, has announced that the company will be offering a series of titles for free, starting with the 2016 title, Ratchet & Clank.
PlayStation is looking to give back to its community and plans to offer a selection of free titles as a sort of thank-you during these trying times.
“These days, we could all use something to look forward to and another reason to stay safely socially distanced, so we are happy to be able to offer a free selection of great games and some entertainment offers.”
This isn’t the first time since the start of the pandemic that Sony has done this.
“Last April, we launched the Play At Home initiative, offering up two incredible PlayStation games for free: Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey*. I like to think they helped make the year just a little bit easier.” Ryan stated. “This year, we wanted to go further. So we’ve designed a series of free games and entertainment offers for our PlayStation community to make the next few months a little more fun and enjoyable.”
The first two offerings have already been announced, with Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank coming March 1, and a special offer for Funimation coming March 25.
Here are the full details as outlined in the blog post:
“Starting March 1, 2021
- PlayStation and Insomniac Games will make Ratchet & Clank PS4 available for free download for a limited time through PlayStation Store from March 1 at 8pm PST / March 2 at 4am GMT / 5am CET to March 31, 2021 at 8pm PDT* / April 1 at 4am BST / 5am CEST.
- Once you redeem the game, it will be yours to keep. This 2016 PS4 action-adventure hit from Insomniac Games revisits the origin stories of these beloved PlayStation heroes and features a great mix of outrageous combat and comedy.
Starting March 25, 2021
- Our friends at Funimation (a joint venture of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Aniplex of Japan) are kicking in a very special offer: extended access for new subscribers to Funimation or Wakanim in the countries they are available **. Funimation is an anime-focused subscription service and Wakanim is Funimation’s European division. While there will be additional details to follow, this offer is only available to our community who sign up for and download the Funimation (in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand) or Wakanim apps (in most of Western and Northern Europe) starting on March 25 for a limited time. “
Ryan states that these two offers are just the beginning of what they have planned for Play At Home, with more details to follow in the coming weeks.
“I think we’ve got a great mix of games and entertainment offers lined up, and I hope this news made your day just a little bit brighter. We consider ourselves privileged to bring you this entertainment, and we are very grateful to be a part of your lives.”
Unlike your usual PlayStation Plus subscription –the Play At Home offers are completely free and yours to keep forever, no subscription needed. We’ll continue to post any future updates on Sony’s Play At Home plan as details become available.