Sword of the Sea developer Giant Squid has said that Sony’s PlayStation Indies funding and a PS Plus Extra day one placement were crucial during late development, helping the game reach its August release window and reach a far larger audience than it otherwise would have.
About halfway through the project, Giant Squid ran short of development funds and turned to PlayStation’s indie support program for help. In a new interview, co-founder Matt Nava describes how Sony’s backing included both financial help and direct development support that kept the team on track.
According to Nava, the PlayStation Indies relationship required a deal that placed the title on PS Plus Extra at launch. He weighed the trade-off between putting the game in subscribers’ libraries immediately and gaining significantly more players. “On the one hand, you’re giving away the game for free to all these people who are already subscribed. But at the same time, way more people are playing it – you’re getting more eyes on the game. And that’s tremendously valuable as well,” he said.
Discussion has grown louder in recent years about whether subscription services help or hurt developers, and Sword of the Sea has become a clear example in that debate. Nava explained that the extra support allowed the team to apply late fixes and adjustments that otherwise might not have been possible, and he summed up the impact bluntly: “It saved the game.”
Those final touches and that wider exposure helped Sword of the Sea land among the better-reviewed PS5 launches of the season. The choice to accept Sony’s offer was pragmatic: it gave the studio the breathing room to finish the work and to put the finished product in front of many more players during August’s lineup.
Share your thoughts in the comments and tell us what stood out to you about the deal and the game. X and Bluesky
