Sony adds indie games category to PlayStation Store, offers discounts

Sony Computer Entertainment's reputation for publishing acclaimed indie games is well-earned, and the PlayStation Store will now highlight those titles in their own category, the company announced today.

"This category builds on the support that PlayStation has offered independent developers in the effort to highlight some of the most unique gaming experiences on PlayStation platforms," said Pierre Gravereau, senior manager for digital distribution at Sony Network Entertainment America, on the PlayStation Blog.

The new category will feature indie games past, present and future, and Sony is marking the category's arrival with discounts on three titles from the past year.

Vblank Entertaiment's Retro City Rampage, regularly $14.99, will be available at half price for all PlayStation Network users from today through May 21. During the same period, the game and soundtrack bundle for Minority Media's Papo & Yo will be sold at a 40 percent discount ($7.19 instead of $11.99) for PSN users and at 55 percent off ($5.40) for PlayStation Plus members. And PS Plus subscribers will be able to pick up Frima Studio's Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge free for a limited time.

We've reached out to Sony to ask if the new indie games category means that indie titles won't be promoted anywhere else in the PS Store, or if they'll continue to appear in the main store as well as in the category. We'll update this article with any response we receive.

Update: A Sony representative confirmed to Polygon that indie games will be promoted in the main PS Store as well as within the indie category. "This is just another way for PSN users to discover games in our indie portfolio," said the spokesperson. "It also provides us with the opportunity to highlight the great games and discounts on indie content."