Sony will loan out PS5s to indies "to lower the barrier of entry"

Sony is loaning out PS5 consoles to indie developers as part of a new initiative.

Announced yesterday, July 26, on the Sony Interactive Entertainment website was the PlayStation Indies: Development Hardware Loan Program. This program aims to put PS5 development kits in independent publishers' and developers' hands.

Newly licensed PlayStation game publishers and developers can apply for a PS5 console under the new system. In fact, they'll get two PS5 consoles through the new scheme: one development kit version and another testing version of the new-gen console.

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However, this is all subject to PlayStation overlooking and approving each application. The reveal of the new initiative on Sony's corporate website doesn't detail who will and won't be eligible for the new scheme, so it's a little difficult to gauge unless you're already registered with Sony as a publisher or developer.

Additionally, it's unclear how long developers will be granted these two PS5 testing kits. The announcement from Sony makes it clear that this is a loan program, so the PS5 consoles aren't available to keep for developers, but it should still help lower the barrier to entry for new independent publishers and developers getting their games on PlayStation's new-gen machine.

It'll be interesting to see how independent developers react to the new initiative from PlayStation. Here's hoping this does remove a barrier to entry for developers and publishers and doesn't put up too many demands for them to get their hands on the new-gen kit.

Check out our upcoming PS5 games guide for a full list of all the independently-developed and published games coming to Sony's new-gen console.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.