Sony to fund PSN developers to self-publish

Sony has announced a fund that will help games studios make their “next step from developer to publisher.”

According to Gamesindustry.biz, Chris Eden, Sony’s development relations manager, told an audience at the Game Developers Conference today that “in return for exclusivity we’ll match your development budget with guaranteed royalties.”

I think that this is great news for developers because:

• Sony is not acquiring the IP or any rights, just helping you to establish your position on PSN
• It’s giving developers an additional safety blanket as they learn how to do all the jobs that a publisher does
• Becoming a publisher is a logical step for any developer wanting to build smaller titles (like those for PSN, XBLA and iPhone) or MMOs, and Sony is helping to make it less daunting.

Of course, it makes sense for Sony which will help drive high quality content onto the platform. Great news all round.