Listen, I can understand why people are mad at PlayStation after its announcement that it would soon be adopting an all-digital future. As much as we might hate to admit it, that’s the reality most consumers have been investing in, so it’s no surprise that it’s happening—PlayStation is just one of the first to fully commit to it. Still, the idea that physical media is dying is a tough pill to swallow, and with PlayStation now at the center of that shift within the gaming space, it’s both natural and justifiable to be upset at the brand. However, in no world whatsoever does that excuse taking out our frustrations on indie developers if they choose not to or are simply unable to supply us with a physical copy of their game.
I get it. At this point, we’re frantically trying to figure out ways to preserve physical gaming media, and if that means shouting from the rooftops when an indie developer launches a new game on console without a physical copy, apparently, that’s what we’re going to do. But whether we can and whether we should are two very different things, not to mention the fact that it’s not likely to make all that much of a difference, in addition to tarnishing an indie developer’s reputation when they genuinely don’t deserve it. Nevertheless, that seemingly hasn’t stopped some people from harassing the developer of the upcoming Kingdom Hearts meets Jak and Daxter game Duskfade and its decision to launch on PC and consoles digitally for the time being.
Indie Developers Don’t Deserve Your Hate for PlayStation
There are a couple of reasons this has me so riled up at the moment, but I won’t lie that my initial frustration was fueled by the fact that I recently tried out the demo for Duskfade and was blown away at its quality. While the demo isn’t entirely indicative of the full game, it was still enough to get me salivating at the prospect of playing it once it launches in August. Weird Beluga Studio has something exceedingly special here that I think fans of Kingdom Hearts, Jak and Daxter, and classic 3D platformers in general will really love, and I just hate to see the studio dragged through PlayStation’s mud simply because they’re committing to a digital launch before they explore the possibility of selling boxed copies.
Put the consoles in the correct order.
Unfortunately, that is precisely what has happened, to the point that the developer had to come out and reassure everyone that it would love to sell physical copies of Duskfade once its digital launch has had a chance to prove it’s worth the investment. In a recent post on Duskfade‘s official X account, Weird Beluga stated, “Hey everybody, we love physical games too! We’d love to make boxed editions of Duskfade a reality, but as a smaller indie team we need to see how our digital launch goes first to see if it’s feasible for us,” and I personally don’t see anything wrong at all with that approach. It makes sense for them, and it honestly makes sense for indie developers at large.
This post was, of course, in a thread where Weird Beluga announced that Duskfade could now be pre-ordered on the PlayStation 5, which, in the past, would have likely garnered plenty of praise from fans who were looking forward to playing the game. Instead, it’s littered with replies about PlayStation’s decision to adopt an all-digital future, with statements like “No disc, no buy” and plenty of expletives directed at Sony. Of course, not every reply to the post is explicitly directed at Duskfade and Weird Beluga, but it still creates a problem for the upcoming action-adventure game.
Hate has a way of multiplying, especially when ignorance is involved, and it can severely damage a game’s reputation, as well as the reputation of the developer itself. When someone without any awareness of or consideration for an indie developer’s limited budget sees someone else having a negative reaction to their decision to launch on PlayStation without a physical copy, their immediate response might be to jump on board the hate train and mindlessly repeat what they’ve heard because it makes them feel like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves. We all want to be included, after all, and for whatever reason, hate is generally more inclusive than love on the internet.
Hate has a way of multiplying, especially when ignorance is involved, and it can severely damage a game’s reputation, as well as the reputation of the developer itself.
From there, the boycott begins, and it can even spread to the game’s other platforms that haven’t even adopted PlayStation’s philosophy yet. Needless to say, it’s unfair to indie game developers who are pursuing a multi-platform launch for the exposure it offers, and yet hit a wall because of the controversial decisions of one platform holder, not the developer. I would agree that AAA developers can and should continue dishing out physical copies of their games until they’re unable to, for one reason or another, but suggesting that indie developers can’t launch their games on PS5 just because PlayStation is eventually going to stop producing physical media is just a bonkers take if I’ve ever heard one.
Indie developers like Weird Beluga are simply doing whatever it takes to make their game reach as many people as possible, and as long as the PS5 remains a console where they can do that, even without a physical copy, they should be allowed to do so without everyone’s current hate for PlayStation interfering. The best outcome would be that we all do our due diligence and actually think before we speak, or at least do research to have a grounded opinion, but I know I’m also asking for too much there. The internet is just out of control these days, especially on social media platforms like X, and it’s impossible to get every single person on there to just close their mouths and think for a second.
PlayStation will officially end the production of physical game discs for all new releases starting in January 2028.
Nevertheless, can we all just resolve to leave indie developers like Weird Beluga alone, even if they choose to bring their game to a PlayStation console? Trust me when I say that Duskfade is one of the most promising indie titles I’ve seen in quite a while, and if you’re not convinced of that by opinion alone, at least head to Steam and check out the demo. I genuinely don’t want to see this game getting pummeled because of PlayStation’s physical games controversy, and I’m sure I’m not alone. Chances are, Weird Beluga isn’t the only indie developer currently under fire for PlayStation’s decisions, and that makes me sick. Let’s change that, shall we?
