Sony Interactive Entertainment has defended the controversial 30% commission fee charged on purchases through the PlayStation Store, stating that supporting developers across the PlayStation 5 ecosystem requires a “big investment.”
The comments come during a new interview with The Game Business, where Sony executives discussed everything from developer funding and platform strategy to the growing influence of Chinese and Korean studios.
Sony Says Supporting Developers Is Expensive
The discussion around the PlayStation Store fee arrives while Sony is currently facing a class-action lawsuit alleging the company monopolized parts of the digital PlayStation marketplace.
When asked about the standard 30% platform fee, Sony explained that maintaining the PlayStation ecosystem involves substantial ongoing costs.
According to the company, there are currently around 10,000 developers and publishers actively working with PlayStation.
Sony also revealed that it maintains five internal support teams dedicated specifically to helping developers with:
- Dev kits
- Technical support
- Best practices
- PR and marketing
- Funding assistance
Sony says maintaining all of these resources represents a major financial investment.
“Attracting and supporting game developers on PS5 is costly,” the report explains.
Christian Svensson, VP of second and third-party content ventures and strategic initiatives at Sony Interactive Entertainment, emphasized that PlayStation has historically always been a strongly third-party-focused platform.
Sony Has Funded Over 120 Projects This Generation
One of the biggest revelations from the interview is that Sony has either fully or partially funded more than 120 projects during the current console generation.
Interestingly, this number reportedly does not include the company’s larger “Hero Projects.”
According to Svensson, Sony actively provides support across a wide range of projects, including independent games that may otherwise struggle to secure funding or platform visibility.
The company also reportedly operates a:
- Non-recoupable indie fund
- Smaller diversity-focused funding programs
- Long-term support initiatives for emerging developers
Sony says indie games remain an essential part of the PlayStation ecosystem and are treated as an important complement to major AAA releases.
Sony Praises Chinese and Korean Studios
Another major talking point from the interview involved Sony’s praise for developers in China and South Korea.
Svensson stated that the speed and responsiveness of many Chinese and Korean studios have become “astonishing” compared to some Western and Japanese development teams.
“The scale and the responsiveness in their approach, it’s something that we’re not necessarily seeing from some of our Western or even Japanese teams,” Svensson explained.
He also noted that these studios are producing content and creative ideas that feel very different from what PlayStation traditionally receives.
The comments come during a period where several major Korean and Chinese-developed titles — including Stellar Blade and Black Myth: Wukong — have seen enormous global success.
PlayStation’s Future Becoming Increasingly Digital
The broader discussion also ties into Sony’s increasing focus on digital ecosystems and platform growth.
Recent financial reports revealed that approximately 85% of PlayStation game sales are now digital, further strengthening Sony’s push toward online storefronts, subscriptions, and digital platform services.
At the same time, Sony executives acknowledged that content remains the true heart of the PlayStation business.
One executive even described PlayStation hardware as essentially “a plastic box without content,” emphasizing how important developers and games are to the platform’s future.
Between funding over 120 projects, supporting thousands of developers, and expanding globally, Sony clearly wants to position itself as far more than just a console manufacturer — even if the 30% commission debate is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
