Free-to-play games will account for a “big chunk” of PS4’s revenues within three to five years, according to Sony’s senior account executive for F2P.
"We're really looking at this as a significant part of our digital business," Sarah Thompson told an audience at GDC, as reported by GameSpot. "I think that it's going to be a really a big chunk of our revenues in the next few years, three to five years. And it's already growing at amazing rates that are really quite surprising.
“I think that it's really taking us into where we need to be as a company. As a company, we do fully believe in free-to-play."
Fellow panellist Laura Naviaux of Daybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment) concurred, adding: "Every indication is that there is a tremendous amount of opportunity for growth with free-to-play on consoles."
Opinion on console F2P has been split in recent years and some, such as Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick, remain sceptical. Despite the negativity, however, more companies appear to be coming on board. EA recently expressed enthusiasm while SOE in January revealed that DC Universe Onlinemakes more money on consoles than it does PC.
Microsoft last week confirmed that Fable Legends will be free-to-play on Xbox One, joining the growing collection of existing and upcoming F2P games on that console.