Game library subscriptions are an excellent convenience offered by modern console developers and PC game distributors. For a monthly fee, PlayStation and Xbox fans alike can get access to any number of quality games. One game that’s cropped up on a lot of these lists lately isA Plague Tale: Innocence,the multifaceted survival-horror-action-adventure title released by Asobo Studio in 2019.A Plague Tale: Innocencetells the story of Amicia and Hugo, two young siblings living in medieval France during the onset of the Black Plague. Between the oncoming plague and tensions between France and England, Amicia and Hugo are thrust into a struggle for survival.
A Plague Tale: Innocenceearned praise from critics and fans alike, earning quite a few awards and nominations in the months following its release. Many players agreed that its colorful blend of game genres did well to carry the strong narrative at the heart of the game. AlthoughA Plague Tale: Innocencehas already seen pretty impressive sales, passing 1 million copies last year, there’s no harm in it being available across various game subscription services. In fact, that availability will probably bea big boon to thePlague Talebrand, as Asobo Games is working on a sequel.
A Plague Tale: Innocence’s High Visibility
A Plague Tale: Innocencereally has made the rounds on subscription services lately. It first cropped up on Xbox Game Pass in 2020 and stayed there. Then, Sony announced thatA Plague Tale: Innocencewould come to PS Plus, vastly expanding its availability. Now, Epic Games has revealed thatInnocencewill be available for freethrough its game browser as well, meaningInnocenceis readily available for free on nearly every major gaming platform thanks to a broad range of services. Asobo Games andInnocence’s publisher Focus Home Interactive are probably pushing these free versions of the game to build as much interest in possible forA Plague Tale: Requiem,theInnocencesequel announced during E3 2021.
This is definitely a clever way to expand the franchise’s fanbase. By making the first game available for free wherever it can, Asobo is casting the widest net possible in an attempt to fish up morePlague Talefans. The more players develop an interest in the franchise, the more potential buyers there are for the sequel.A Plague Tale’s relationship with these services is especially important when one considers thatRequiemwill launch on Xbox Game Pass. Asobo is establishing a relationship between thePlague Talebrand and these services while specifically enticing Xbox users to keep an eye on the franchise.
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A Plague Tale: Requiem’s Rise
Information about the game is a little scarce, butAPlague Tale: Requiemlooks poised to keep building on the narrative threads and mechanics that made the first game successful. Teasers for the game indicate that Amicia and Hugo have a curse to contend with as they keep struggling to survive the plague and the literal tides of rats that come with it. Hopefully Asobo will keep releasing information about the game throughout the latter half of 2021 before the game releases in 2022. In the meantime,A Plague Tale: Innocence’s widespread availabilitygoes a long way to support the sequel.
In a way, Asobo’s use of subscription services and PC game distributors tohold up thePlague TaleIPshows how valuable and influential these services are. They can make tons of games available to fans for a very reasonable price. When studios can get more fans for their franchises, and those fans can play more of the games they’re interested in, everybody wins. The game industry wouldn’t be the same without Xbox Game Pass, PS Plus, and every comparable service. Hopefully next year Asobo gets rewarded for spreading the word aboutA Plague Taleso fervently.
A Plague Tale: Innocenceis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.A Plague Tale: Requiemreleases in 2022 for PC, PS5, Switch (Cloud play), and Xbox Series X/S.
