The Uncharted collection and Journey will be free on PS4 this month

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Sony also started a $10 million fund for indie studios affected by COVID-19

(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

You can soon download Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey for free on your PS4, thanks to a new initiative from Sony. 

The company recently unveiled its Play At Home Initiative, a movement to help keep gamers occupied while they're sheltered at home in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Nathan Drake Collection includes three out of the four games in the Uncharted series: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. You'll still have to spend some money if you want to play Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but you certainly won't need it right away with three other games to get through. The other free game is indie adventure darling Journey, a 2012 title that's as beautiful as it is entertaining. 

Both the Uncharted collection and Journey will be available for download from April 15 through May 5. Once you claim them, you can keep them forever. Note that German and Chinese PS4 players won't have the same free games - instead, they're getting platformer Knack 2 along with Journey. 

Sony CEO Jim Ryan unveiled the Play at Home Initiative in an official blog post, writing that it has two components: "First, providing free games to help keep the PlayStation community entertained at home; and finally, establishing a fund to help smaller independent game studios who may be experiencing financial difficulties continue building great experiences for all gamers." That fund has gathered $10 million for indie game studios that were hit hard by the global pandemic, and who likely don't have the financial stores to make it through such an economic struggle. 

It's lovely to see that both the games offered and Sony's fund split the focus between indie and AAA games - a shared interest that's more important now than ever.

Sony isn't the only company stepping up to the plate, check out the many ways the video game community is helping coronavirus relief efforts. 

Alyssa Mercante
Alyssa Mercante

Alyssa Mercante used to be a features writer at GamesRadar and is now a freelance writer and editor. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.