Konami/SonyIn a move I don’t think anybody could have predicted, Sony has officially changed its lineup of free PlayStation Games for July 2019, following a pretty negative reaction from fans.
Announced at the end of June, the two free games were intended to be the football title PES 2019 and arcade racer Horizon Chase Turbo. It was the former that many seemed to take exception to, with fans arguing the two free games on offer were especially disappointing given that PS Plus no longer offers PS3 or Vita titles.
We’re making a swap to the PS Plus games lineup for July 2019. Learn more here: https://t.co/CyHqz961O6 pic.twitter.com/FVbtQcBeaJ
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) July 2, 2019
Days later, the official PlayStation account tweeted the news that PES 2019 was to be swapped out for the divisive PS4 exclusive Detroit: Become Human. To be clear, it’s unconfirmed whether or not this last-minute swap is a direct response to community feedback, or if some other logistical reason has prevented PES 2019’s inclusion.
I would say that the timing of it all is certainly a little suspect, and fans really weren’t happy about PES 2019.
A PlayStation blog post wrote:
We are making a swap to the PS Plus games lineup for July. This month, we are adding Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition, which also includes Heavy Rain, to the July games lineup instead of Pro Evolution Soccer 2019. We apologize for any inconvenience.
While the majority of fans seem happy with the swap, there are those who were genuinely looking forward to PES 2019, as well as a number of gamers who’ve already picked up and completed Detroit, and so aren’t especially over the moon to be offered it as a freebie.
When it comes to the PlayStation Plus monthly freebies, you clearly can’t please everyone. That’s why, if Sony made this decision in response to fan backlash, the company has just set foot on an incredibly slippery slope.
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Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.