{"id":704610,"date":"2026-07-22T04:28:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T04:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/704610\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T04:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T04:28:13","slug":"indie-publisher-will-safeguard-devs-by-making-ps5-physical-games-for-all-eligible-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/704610\/","title":{"rendered":"Indie Publisher Will ‘Safeguard’ Devs by Making PS5 Physical Games for All Eligible Titles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Indie<\/a><\/p>\n

In a rather dramatic \u2013 dare I say borderline performative \u2013 statement of intent, Chinese indie publisher Astrolabe Games has released a \u201cmanifesto<\/a>\u201d, pledging its commitment to PS5 physical games until Sony stops manufacturing them in January 2028<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The so-called \u2018A-Go Manifesto<\/a>\u2019 promises to \u201csafeguard developers\u2019 creations\u201d by ensuring a disc for all its upcoming projects is released, assuming they \u201cmeet basic eligibility requirements\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sony requires a minimum order of physical games, so publishers must commit to a specific number of units, usually in the thousands. It says this commitment represents a \u201cstand alongside passionate developers\u201d.<\/p>\n

Astrolabe Games is behind some pretty cool, niche PS5 titles \u2013 like BlazBlue Entropy Effect X<\/a> and Stories from Sol: The Gun-Dog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Shanghai-based firm says it\u2019ll continue \u201ctill the last day\u201d to ensure its games receive as many boxed releases as possible, although its manifesto does include some disclaimers, noting certain titles may only be available in select territories.<\/p>\n

It also admits it\u2019s at the mercy of platform holder policies, so any changes on Sony\u2019s end could put an end to its pledge.<\/p>\n

I do expect we\u2019ll see an absolute avalanche of physical releases in 2027, while publishers rush to release their games on disc before the deadline.<\/p>\n

Remember, Sony has said there will be capacity for re-orders<\/a> after the cut-off date, assuming publishers get their games manufactured before January 2028.<\/p>\n

Astrolabe\u2019s upcoming physical slate includes Gurei<\/a> later this year and Fall Up<\/a> early next year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll find a market to sell these games to, but I have to imagine they\u2019ll be available in relatively small runs.<\/p>\n

As reported overnight<\/a>, only seven physical titles in 2026 have exceeded 100k sales, which is a vanishingly small number \u2013 despite the relentless uproar around Sony\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

[source astrolabe-games.ca<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\tSee Also<\/p>\n

\"Sammy<\/p>\n

As the Editor of Push Square, Sammy has over 15 years of experience analysing the world of PlayStation, from PS3 through PS5 and everything in between. He\u2019s an expert on PS Studios and industry matters, as well as sports games and simulators. He also enjoys RPGs when he has the time to dedicate to them, and is a bit of a gacha whale.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a rather dramatic \u2013 dare I say borderline performative \u2013 statement of intent, Chinese indie publisher Astrolabe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[119999,59,555,112,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-704610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-astrolabe-games","tag-gb","tag-industry","tag-ps5","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}