Last-Minute PlayStation Plus Game Change Was Sony's Call, Konami Said

A rare occurrence took place not long after the free PlayStation Plus games for July were announced when Sony decided to swap one game out for another. Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 was pulled from the two-game lineup with the Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition taking its place. According to Konami, the decision to change one game out for the other was entirely Sony's, and Sony says it was a "decision we decided to make as a company."

The swap was announced on July 2nd, the same day that both of those games would've gone live in the PlayStation Store. Those expecting to download Konami's soccer game were instead greeted with David Cage's decision-driven narrative. Sone were happy with the game while others would've preferred the other PlayStation Plus game, Horizon Chase Turbo, be pulled from the lineup because they actually wanted PES 2019. Either way, the soccer game was gone, and when reached for comment by GameSpot, Konami said to check with Sony on the matter.

"This decision was made by Sony and so please make an inquiry to Sony," Konami told GameSpot.

Sony in turn gave a response that simply restated the events of what took place and apologized for any inconvenience the swap caused to those who were expecting to be playing PES 2019.

"We have decided to make a change to the PS Plus games lineup this month, and will be offering Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition instead of PES 2019," Sony told GameSpot. "This was a decision we decided to make as a company, and we apologize for any inconvenience."

Lennart Bobzien, the European brand manager for PES, had a similar answer. Bobzien told GameSpot that he "can't really explain" what happened and that he'd just suddenly found out about his swap one morning.

Back in February 2018, Sony made an announcement that it would only be offering two free PlayStation Plus games instead of the usual array of PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita titles every month. Sony said at the time that the decision was made so that the focus could be put on PlayStation 4 games and their features such as "online multiplayer, online game save storage, PS4 monthly games, and exclusive PS Store discounts across content and network services," though an expectation from the fanbase was that the quality of the two games would increase to compensate. People didn't seem to be particularly thrilled about July's games, but based on the responses from the companies involved, it can't be said for certain whether the vocal PlayStation crowd swayed the decision.