I had a pretty good time with Soulslike RPG The First Berserker: Khazan, and as I continue to get my parry on in reactive turn-based JRPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, one game simmers in the back of my mind. I'm looking forward to Wuchang: Fallen Feathers after trying it, I still need to play AI Limit after enjoying the demo, and Elden Ring Nightreign will inevitably be fun. But Phantom Blade Zero stands as a singular fascination for me. I don't see anything else quite like it in the roster of new and upcoming action RPGs, and with every passing parry, I find myself hungrier for it.

I've played Phantom Blade Zero exactly twice. Every time I see it at some industry event or other, it looks and feels better than I remember. Originally revealed at a 2023 PlayStation State of Play show, this Chinese action RPG left me gasping for air after my first helter-skelter hands-on. It's far faster than I originally expected, and its meticulously polished trailers are actually a pretty good representation of how it plays. It is, loudly and proudly, not a Soulslike, which is one of the best things about it – and I say that as a Soulslike glutton.

My latest Phantom Blade Zero session introduced me to the boss from the game's more recent Year of the Snake trailer – seven puppets controlled by a corrupted, faceless swordsman. The fact that the crowded fight didn't piss me off is already impressive – action games with this sort of camera tend to fall apart as soon as you put two bosses on screen – but it wasn't even the highlight of the session. (Also, this might be the first time I've seen a game let you start at the second phase of a boss fight after you die.) I was more in love with the new weapons on display – particularly a combination of swift twin blades, a lithe whip sword, and a positively meteoric axe – and several comments from director and S-Game founder "Soulframe" Liang were music to my ears.

A different era

Glossing over more granular touchstones, Liang says Phantom Blade Zero is styled after two main themes: the golden age of kung fu films, and the golden age of PlayStation 1 and especially PlayStation 2 action games. I'm no kung fu connoisseur, but I have fond memories of the early PlayStation days, and Phantom Blade Zero is speaking my language. Combat felt feast-or-famine at first, stylish highs punctuated with painful segments of me getting ripped apart like abstract art, but the more comfortable I get with the controls, the more time I spend feasting. And when you're on top of your game and Phantom Blade Zero is firing on all cylinders, it is positively exhilarating.

Combos begin with frenetic light and heavy attacks, but by slipping in special weapons called Phantom Edges – like that axe from earlier – you can punctuate your assault or find new openers. Swapping weapons acts as a combo extender, breaking the seal on a second can of whoopass just as bosses think they can take a breather. Reasonably forgiving dodge and parry windows, with embellishing, smoky flourish added to perfect counters, let you react mid-combo if you see a boss spooling up a special attack denoted by a flash of light.

Liang says they've been careful to avoid overcomplicating combos, pushing for Devil May Cry flare without intimidating chains of buttons, but there's a lot of room for customization and skill expression. In the same way that Helldivers 2 doesn't even have to try to look cinematic, I've seen Phantom Blade Zero casually conjure some incredibly framed and timed duels without breaking a sweat, and it plays out at a speed that makes even Khazan look tame.

This game always feels good in my hands, and if anything I'm even more intrigued by all the things I haven't seen from it. I'm told Phantom Blade Zero can push 50 hours on your first run if you go for thorough completion, and there seems to be a mountain of optional content. Liang says the game is quite big on layered and secret-filled level design, despite what some combat-forward trailers may suggest. This is a recurring weakness with this genre, so I have high hopes here. Black Myth: Wukong was a good boss rush held together by Unreal Engine backdrops masquerading as levels, and Khazan's repetitive, oversized areas left me feeling indifferent at best and fatigued at worst.

Hidden in those levels, Phantom Blade Zero has over 30 special weapons and 20 main weapons, and you'll acquire most of them by ripping them out of the cold, dead hands of bosses, including tons of side bosses. (All the ones I've fought are side bosses, and often of a quality that many games would understandably reserve for the critical path.) If there's anything I love, it's a game that rewards exploration and makes gear matter. There's a place for loot systems, but a whole new martial arts weapon is infinitely more interesting than my umpteenth spear with 14 more attack power. Liang says you could play the whole game with your one favorite weapon, but I'm looking forward to assembling and testing a huge arsenal of tricks.

I've immensely enjoyed the uptick in action RPGs coming out of China and Korea, from Zenless Zone Zero and Stellar Blade to Black Myth: Wukong and Lies of P, and Phantom Blade Zero increasingly feels like it could be another big milestone on this trend. It still doesn't have a release date on PS5 or PC, but it lives rent-free in my head after maybe an hour of hands-on time, and it remains near the top of my list of most-wanted action RPGs.

Here are all the big new games of 2025 and beyond.

Last year was a strange one for the PlayStation brand, in that it felt like most of its perceivable highs were followed by at least one relative low. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was the jewel in its first-party exclusive crown, for example, yet Xbox had Starfield. Final Fantasy 16 was received well, but Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was delayed by several months. Runaway hit Baldur's Gate 3 inadvertently became a timed PS5 console-exclusive, yet Forspoken faltered in similar circumstances. 

Moreover, after months of pushback against Microsoft's high-profile bid to acquire Activision, that deal eventually went through. And while we're yet to see how that will inevitably alter the landscape of the video games industry in the longer term, you'd have to assume Sony will be keen to hit the ground running in the here and now – all of which paves the way for an interesting 2024 as far as PlayStation is concerned.

Games on

The first notable move for PlayStation in 2024 is The Last of Us 2 Remastered, a souped-up re-release of the 2020 original for PS5 that's due on January 19 and includes cut content by way of the "lost levels", and a new roguelike mode named No Return. Given the sheer volume of remakes this horror series has released over the last decade or so, this console-exclusive is hardly a big one, but it is a console-exclusive all the same. 

February is an exciting month for PlayStation fans, with the 4v4 online party shooter Foamstars kicking things off on February 4. It's then closely followed by the console-exclusive squad-shooter Helldivers 2, which brings an old twin-stick affair into shiny third-person in the process. Pacific Drive follows that on February 22, which our own Leon Hurley said already feels like a brilliant mix of the road, the radio, and roguelike after going hands-on earlier this year. And after that again comes what may well be the PS5's biggest game of 2024: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Landing on February 29, Rebirth marks the second part of the planned trilogy that reimagines its 1997 JRPG source material against today's standards, taking us beyond the confines of capital city Midgar for the first time.  

Into March and a game I'm personally pining for comes in the shape of Rise of the Ronin. Due on March 22, this Edo period-set action-RPG is the work of Team Ninja, whose past chops include everything from Dead or Alive to last year's Wo-Long Fallen Dynasty, and the superb Nioh series. After that, PlayStation's console-exclusive calendar dries up, but the likes of Phantom Blade 0, Sword of the Sea, Death Stranding 2 and Hideo Kojima's new project OD, Concord, Marathon, and Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 remake all boast vague TBC due dates, with many of those expected to drop at some point in 2024.  

Hardworn

On the hardware front, 2023 was solid for PlayStation. Between its slimmed-down PS5, the PlayStation Access controller, the arrival of PSVR2, and even the PlayStation Portal – which our own Phil Hayton liked but didn't love, ultimately billing the handheld as a one-trick pony in their PlayStation Portal  – last year was busy for Sony in hardware terms. All of which means the 12 months ahead will likely be quieter to this end. Rumors tied to the whys, whens and hows of the PS5 Pro endure, of course, with some pockets of the internet suggesting 2024 is when we should expect an upgrade to the existing models that are out there right now. But that is, of course, all speculation.

What's also hearsay is who might replace outgoing PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan who, after announcing his plans to retire from the role last year, is expected to vacate his position in March, 2024. Looking over the fence, it's hard to predict exactly what Xbox has planned this year, but by the time a new face takes the throne at PlayStation that'll likely be more clear – and at that point, the new PS CEO will be better placed to determine how much they wish to alter the company's course of action. 

In the meantime, what I'd love to see from PlayStation in 2024 is something from the company's first-party studios. You'd have to assume Insomniac will go radio silent for the foreseeable following last year's catastrophic in-development leaks – which is totally fair – but the likes of Naughty Dog, Guerilla Games and Bluepoint could surprise us, either with something from their current ensemble of games, or something new altogether. The best place to do this? A blockbuster PlayStation Showcase event. Following last year's less inspiring showings, I'd love to see PlayStation come back with a bang on this front in 2024, and I'm sure the company itself is keen to do so given how front-loaded its schedule is for the year ahead. We often talk about tone-setting at this time of year, and whereas 2023 was stable but subdued for PlayStation as a whole, laying down a marker early doors seems like the most sensible tact for Sony and its flagship games brand. 

12 years since the first game launched, Dragon's Dogma 2 looks set to stun. Situated in a parallel universe to its predecessor, and featuring a massive open world map that's four times bigger, this new game for 2024 will see us stepping into the shoes of a brand new Arisen as they grapple with their environment to recover their bearings, recruit companions, and defeat mythical monsters of all shapes and sizes.

By starting players off with a blank slate – a customizable hero with no recollection of their past – director Hideaki Itsuno says those unfamiliar with the RPG series will have an easier time. "The game starts off with a main character who has lost their memory, allowing us to have characters around you explain things to get you up to speed. So even if this is your first time playing Dragon's Dogma, you can safely dive in!"

That's just as well for me, since I never had the pleasure of playing Capcom's 2012 original (you can blame my A Levels for that). But having seen all the promotional trailers and gameplay clips, and being a steadfast fan of all things medieval fantasy, consider my interest thoroughly piqued by Dragon's Dogma 2.

Winds howling 

I remember watching the Dragon's Dogma 2 reveal trailer during the PlayStation Showcase last May and wondering if I'd been living under a rock. A fantastical open world with swashbuckling swordplay, magic-infused melee combat, and no shortage of terrible beasties to put to the blade; it has everything I loved about playing The Witcher 3, and yet I'd never heard of it. Still, I was instantly drawn to this gorgeous world that Capcom was dangling before me, and mentally added it to my list of upcoming PS5 games to pick up this year.

For the seasoned Dragon's Dogma fans, it sounds like you'll be in for a treat with the sequel. "This game has been developed based on the concept of the original Dragon's Dogma," Itsuno says of Capcom's key influences for DD2. "We stuck with this direction throughout the project." This dedication to the first game is evident to me when comparing combat gameplay clips. Dragon's Dogma 2 looks similar and yet undeniably weightier than the original, refining its signature third-person melee action and vocation-specific combat mechanics for a smoother experience that doesn't deviate wildly from its roots. 

Visual similarities aside, Itsuno says there are plenty of changes and reworked, expanded systems that make Dragon's Dogma 2 a marked improvement on the first. Skyrim fans might be intrigued by the Beastren, a newly-added playable Khajiit-like cat person race you can choose from the character creation. Capcom has also worked hard to improve the behavior of Pawns, the NPC party members your Arisen can recruit on their journey to help even the odds of battle. 

It's understandable that the AI back in 2012 might not have been too polished, so the goal this time around is to "make you feel like you're playing with friends", according to Itsuno. Paired with general "improved NPC AI and resultant emergent possibilities", returning fans can hopefully look forward to a branching narrative with even more player-contingent choices than before.

Judging by the RPG genre's popularity last year, I'm excited to see just how big Dragon's Dogma 2 will get in 2024. I love getting lost in a huge new game, and I've yet to hear something about DD2 that I don't like. The deep character builds and specific playstyles of each vocation are right up my street, sounding not dissimilar to Baldur's Gate 3's classes with jobs like Thief (that's a rogue, right?) and Archer (basically a ranger) – of course, that doesn't account for new hybrid vocations, which are sure to keep things interesting. 

Dragon's Dogma 2's improved character creator also sounds like my kind of party. Itsuno touts "missing teeth" as just one new quirk you can afflict upon your poor Arisen if you so wish, though personally, I'd prefer to keep all mine intact. Player choice really does seem to be at the heart of Dragon's Dogma 2, creating a world where no two playthroughs can ever be the same, and we'll be putting it to the test on March 22.

2023 always had scope to be a strange one for Sony. For one, PlayStation entered the year with relatively few first-party exclusives on the books – in comparison to previous years, at least; certainly since the introduction of PS5 in 2020 – with its biggest rival Microsoft gearing up to launch Starfield, easily one of the most-anticipated games of recent times, as an Xbox console exclusive. 

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was the obvious challenger here from a commercial and critical perspective, and while it's difficult to compare the two directly (we'll dig into that further down the page), Insomniac Games' second crack at the red-suited superhero quickly became the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game over a 24-hour period, selling more than 2.5 million copies in a single day. 

Final Fantasy 16 was received well at launch in June, wowing players with its combat, voice acting, and spectacle (I'll leave fans of the series to debate the strength of its story, mind you); while the much-anticipated Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was pushed back several months into next year. The PS5 had this year's runaway hit Baldur's Gate 3 all to itself in the console space for several weeks; whereas timed-PS5-exclusive Forspoken didn't quite live up to expectations. PSVR 2 excelled, not least by way of Horizon Call of the Mountain; yet the company's marquee PlayStation Showcase and State of Play events too often flattered to deceive. And so went the last 12 months for PlayStation – seemingly matching many of its forward strides with one or two in the opposite direction. 

With the Microsoft-Activision deal bubbling under the surface, a fair amount of Sony's front-facing visibility in 2023 was spent speaking out about why the proposed multi-million dollar acquisition wasn't good for the video games industry as a whole. And while I don't disagree with the sentiment from an anti-monopoly point of view (I will, however, put the glaring inconsistencies in Sony's argument to one side for the sake of debate), I personally felt both sides allowed the tabloid charade of it all to become an increasingly bigger distraction over the course. 

All of which is to say: 2023 always had scope to be a strange one for Sony. And, for me, it totally was.

The state of play

Ahead of May's PlayStation-focused event, I ran a headline that read: Sony simply turning up at the PlayStation Showcase will keep Xbox on the ropes. With the virtue of hindsight, I'll be the first to admit that I missed the mark at top-level – Sony ultimately delivered a lukewarm presentation – but I nevertheless stand by the points made within. Xbox console-exclusive Redfall, aka Microsoft's biggest blunder of the year, was barely behind us when this particular PlayStation Showcase rolled around, and we were less than a month on from a Microsoft earnings report that stated Xbox hardware revenue had plummeted 30% in the previous year. At the same time, Sony had announced that the PS5 was selling faster than PS4 in the US despite years of console shortages, and that the PS5 had passed 500 million home consoles sold as a result. 

Roll all of this into the fact that at the time – way back in the heady days of late May earlier this year – the Microsoft-Activision bid was enjoying one of its signature lulls, whereby any deal whatsoever seemed all but unlikely. Fast forward several months, and not only has the Microsoft-Activision deal gone through, but Microsoft has also enjoyed the successful launch of Xbox-exclusive, Starfield. As mentioned above, making side-by-side comparisons between Bethesda's space-faring RPG and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is impossible, given the fact many Xbox players are playing the former via Game Pass. What we can say about the superhero PS5 exclusive, however, is that it sold more than five million copies in 11 days and was the highest-selling video game of October 2023. That's pretty good going. 

Alongside all of this, the fact that Baldur's Gate 3 launched on PS5 shortly after its arrival on PC made Larian Studios' hit role-player an unlikely boon for Sony – the PS5 becoming the only console alternative for trips to the Sword Coast between September 6 and December 7, when that journey was finally possible on Xbox Series hardware following a handful of delays. I don't think the importance of this inadvertent period of exclusivity can be underestimated, especially given the fact that games of this nature (Larian games in particular) tend to fare better on PC – not to mention the fact BG3 had accrued a solid and pre-existing following via three years in Steam's Early Access initiative. With the promise of Baldur's Gate 3 DLC on the horizon, PlayStation players will inevitably extend their love affair with GamesRadar+'s Game of the Year for 2023 when the time comes.

On the hardware front, the PlayStation Portal landed in November with its 8" display and built-in DualSense controller designed to sort of replicate the PSP and PSVita handhelds of bygone eras. The jury's still out on how well it manages that – but another peripheral that was well-received from Sony's 2023 purview was the PlayStation Access controller. Designed in collaboration with the accessibility community, the Access aims to help players with disabilities play more comfortably, with a broad range of customization options.  

Despite the aforementioned mediocre PlayStation Showcase in May, the Sony State of Play event in September did a far better job of stirring hype for what lies ahead – even if much of that extends into next year. This showing's coup de gras was destined to be a closer look at Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, part two of the planned trilogy, and it wasted no time in getting going. With flashes of Junon Harbour, the parade on the central thoroughfare of the same seaside town, the cable car ride to the Gold Saucer, Cait Sith, Vincent, Zack, Red 13's hometown of Cosmo Canyon, Bugenhagen, mention of Emerald and Ruby Weapon, and that big bastard swamp serpent that Sephiroth makes light work of – it all looked stunning. Now with its February 29 launch date in sight, 2024 can't come soon enough. 

Elsewhere on PlayStation's coming soon radar sits The Last of Us 2 Remastered (January 19) and Pacific Drive (February 22); with a number of TBC labels hanging over everything from Phantom Blade 0, Sword of the Sea, Hideo Kojima's new project OD, Concord, Marathon, the Silent Hill 2 remake, and Marvel's Wolverine. To the latter end, the catastrophic Insomniac leaks that unfolded this week at the hands of hackers dealt a devastating blow to all of those on the receiving end. 

The depth, scale, and scope of the leaked material that's now in the public domain is unlike anything I've ever seen before in video games, and is certainly a sore one for Insomniac who'd otherwise be riding high into the New Year buoyed by its latest successful release. This is indeed a notable set-back for a first-party PlayStation studio, but if Rockstar Games' recent trajectory in the face of high-profile leaks is anything to go by – from its own in-development content hack last year through to this month's stellar GTA 6 trailer – then I'm confident Insomniac has what it takes to bounce back once it's dusted itself down and is raring to go again. 

And with the sentiment of looking forward in mind, despite a fairly stop-start year from PlayStation against what we're otherwise used to, its next steps into 2024 and beyond will be, as ever, well worth watching. 

Here are the best PS5 games to play right now

The slick new action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero is getting lots of interest from Sekiro fans.

Sony's recent PlayStation Showcase offered a plethora of exciting announcements from some of the biggest series, including the unveiling of the long-rumoured Metal Gear Solid 3 remake as well as the release date for Assassin's Creed Mirage, and a new trailer for Marvel's Spider-Man 2. Still, for many, it was Phantom Blade Zero, a bleak and brutal new action-RPG, that stole the show. 

"Phantom Blade Zero was game of the show IMO," said Twitter user @NextGenPlayer. "A genuine surprise and looks awesome - definitely a day one game." Others described what was shown in the reveal trailer as "simply incredible" and disgustingly good."

As the trailer shows, combat is fast-paced and frenetic, with protagonist Soul using sweeping sword attacks and deflective manoeuvres to make short work of the enemies in his path. While it seemingly takes inspiration from a wide selection of action titles, it's caught the interest of Sekiro fans in particular. 

"I have a feeling that we will like this game," says one user over on the Sekiro subreddit. Many said how impressed they are with Phantom Blade Zero's combat, while others reckon the animations look "insanely good." With a sequel to Sekiro nowhere to be seen, fans are hopeful that this will offer the same brutal yet immensely satisfying sword battles as From Software's samauri-style soulslike. Monkeywrench08 wrote, "Seems like this will scratch my Sekiro itch." 

That being said, others aren't as sold on Phantom Blade Zero just yet and feel that battles are too showy and lack weight. "Honestly, I thought the combat looked like a lot of flash and not a lot of substance," commented one user. "Like a lot of button mashing, but I hope I'm wrong. The style looks cool."

Phantom Blade Zero is being developed by Beijing-based studio S-Game. It's coming to PC and PS5, but no release date has yet been set.

Here's why Phantom Blade Zero is the perfect post-Elden Ring tonic.

Yesterday may have been PlayStation's day, but Xbox doesn't want you to forget that a lot of the games that appeared during the Sony showcase are also coming to its consoles too. 

On May 24, the official Xbox Twitter account not so subtly shared an image that featured the words "coming to Xbox" along with a selection of games. Although this tweet seems innocent enough, its timing, along with the fact all the games featured in the tweet appeared in the PlayStation Showcase, seems a little bit suspicious.

In the image, we've got Immortals of Aveum, Ghost Runner 2, Marathon, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Dragon's Dogma 2, Alan Wake 2, The Plucky Squire, Teardown, Assassin's Creed Mirage, Neva, Cat Quest: Pirates of the Purribean, and The Talos Principle. That's quite a lot of games featured in the showcase that are also coming to Xbox - a fact not so surprising when you realize that PlayStation didn't feature a whole lot of first-party titles yesterday.  

Phil Spencer, the CEO of Xbox Game Studios, took a slightly different approach to Sony's big day. Shortly after the presentation had ended, Spencer took the time to reply to PlayStation head Hermen Hulst on Twitter writing: "Congrats to you and the teams on the showcase. I know a ton of work goes into these shows and it's fun to get to see what's to come. Nice kickoff to 'the show' season." That's considerably less spicy than that first tweet.

Don't worry Xbox fans, you'll also get a chance to see a bunch of upcoming Xbox Series X games during the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 on June 11. It's not yet been revealed what kind of stuff we'll be seeing from the developer but since this is the season for new game announcements, it's definitely one to look forward to. We're also getting a Starfield Direct that should give us another good look at Bethesda's upcoming RPG.

Missed out on all the fun yesterday? Find out everything announced at the PlayStation Showcase. 

Sony unveiled its brand new handheld system yesterday, and it's got Wii U fans thinking about their favorite console again. 

As revealed during the PlayStation Showcase on May 24, Sony is developing a new handheld system currently called 'Project Q.' The device will allow players to stream games from their PS5 to the console - similar to the Steam Deck. Thankfully, we won't have to wait too long to play God of War Ragnarok in bed as Project Q is said to be releasing "later this year." 

Before you get too excited about playing your favorite PS5 games on the go though, PlayStation president Jim Ryan did reveal during the showcase that Project Q will need to stay in close contact with your console and require an internet connection to play. So it's more like the Nintendo Wii U than the Steam Deck. 

It's not just us that's seen the similarities between the 2012 Nintendo console, as shortly after its reveal, several Twitter users made comparisons to Project Q and the Wii U. "The most pointless device this generation," one user said, "This isn’t innovation. It’s a Wii U in 2023. Why would anyone make the choice to play on this when you’ll have huge TV’s in the same room?!"

Another user also pointed out the likeness by tweeting: "Can’t believe it, they actually made a sequel to the Wii U." There's also been a lot of jokes about the two devices with various fans tweeting things like: "APOLOGIZE TO THE WII U RIGHT NOW," and "If you dunked on Wii U and Switch, I don't wanna see you with this." 

To make things worse, a few of the games revealed during the showcase yesterday are already being compared to Nintendo IPs that launched on the Wii U. Fans think that prehistoric survival game Towers of Aghasba has some Breath of the Wild vibes about it and that Square Enix's Foamstars looks like a soapy Splatoon.

Still catching up with last night's event? Find out about everything announced at the PlayStation Showcase. 

From a writer's perspective, shows like today's PlayStation Showcase can feel like a fever dream. There's so much to do, so much to be excited about, so many frantic seconds spent trying to work out which game I'm about to be shown. It's an exhausting, chaotic experience - but from a player's perspective, it's perfect.

Over the past few years, there have been a lot of shows that didn't really need to be shows. As pandemic-era lockdowns scuppered physical events, plenty of third-party publishers took the opportunity to make their own digital shows. Events like Summer Games Fest looked to fill the void left by E3. Even Nintendo and Sony were guilty of Directs and State of Plays that didn't really have enough to warrant their run-time.

But tonight, Sony set a new bar. The PlayStation showcase started with a few words from Jim Ryan, and then launched into a non-stop barrage of reveals. By my count, there were eight major trailers before we hit a smaller project - the very cute Cat Quest: Pirates of the Purribean - but the pacing was purrfect. We'd moved on before we could even wet our paws, back into the action of the rest of the show.

And the rest of the show more than delivered. Assassin's Creed Mirage got shown off with a trailer that looks like we never left Ezio behind. Alan Wake 2 confirmed a second playable character. I chuckled at the long-rumoured reveal of Metal Gear Solid 3 and its awkwardly punny trailer, gasped with joy at the new game from the Night in the Woods team, and held back tears over Neva, the follow-up from the makers of Gris.

Not everything was my jam - I'm no Soulslike master, or Destiny fan, and I won't be shelling out for my own PSVR headset - but Sony knew exactly how hard to push some of those games. Phantom Blade 0, for example, was on-screen for a long time, because it doesn't take a genius to know that a samurai soulslike is likely to get Sekiro fans hot under the collar. And it was the focus on gameplay, not detail or studio spotlights, that allowed those games to shine for their respective audiences.

The best was left until last, as with any showcase worth its salt. Spider-Man 2's lengthy gameplay reveal was a blast - I'm genuinely scared of the symbiote already - but Sony's new handheld console, Project Q, was a true E3-level reveal. This action-packed show left almost no room to breath, and firmly positioned Sony as the company to beat this generation (assuming you didn't think it was already there). Microsoft will have quite the task on its hands if it wants to overcome today's show with its own Xbox Showcase.

There's a whole load of new upcoming PS5 games to get excited about.

Sony has kicked off what's sure to be an exciting few weeks for game announcements with a PlayStation Showcase focused on the biggest and best games coming to PS5 in the near future. Not only that, but we also got a look at some of the intriguing titles coming to its latest virtual reality hardware, PSVR 2. 

Fans will have the chance to get closer than ever to Resident Evil 4's eerie undead, thanks to the upcoming VR Mode. A new trailer for the game shows the oh-so-creepy village from the opening and the chainsaw-wielding Dr Salvador, who's even more terrifying in VR.

And if you've not quite had your fill of the undead, there's the newly unveiled Arizona Sunshine 2. The next chapter looks set to offer the same dark-humour and gore-fuelled zombie slaying action as the first, but this time around, you've got a four-legged friend called Buddy by your side. There's also a new combat system that will ramp things up when the game launches later in the year.

Next up is Crossfire: Sierra Squad from Smilegate Entertainment, which sees you head up an elite fireteam. Offering intense FPS action, it's launching exclusively on PSVR 2. So far, we don't know when that will be, but judging by the latest gameplay footage, it's sure to be a blast.

We were also treated to a new trailer for Synapse, showcasing its slick visuals and inventive mix of gunplay and telekinetic abilities. We've known about this one for a while, but now we have a release date. It's arriving on July 4 exclusively on PSVR 2.

And last but not least is Beat Saber, the VR rhythm game that sees you slash to the beat. It's now available for PSVR 2 alongside the Queen music pack and is offered as a free upgrade if you own the original PSVR version.

Dispelling claims that the hardware has sold poorly since its arrival earlier this year, Sony revealed that PSVR 2 is outperforming its predecessor, with nearly 600,000 total units shifted in its first six weeks.

Check out our upcoming PSVR 2 games guide for more exciting titles coming to the new-gen headset.

Hate over-ear headsets? Sony's the first console manufacturer to offer its own alternative. 

Fresh off the Sony PlayStation Showcase for May 2023, the giant has revealed that it is indeed working on a set of PS5 earbuds, after rumors began swirling back in February. Following industry leaks, a swathe of renders and the mysterious codename Project Nomad, Sony unveiled the PS5 earbuds towards the end of its showcase event today. 

Touted as the first ever PlayStation earbuds and set to bring "next generation audio immersion to PS5 and PC", the buds carry the signature swish of the PS5's design language, with a crisp white outer chassis and a bulb design to fit into the inner ear. Housed in a slick charging case shaped in a pouch style, they're certainly impressive to look at. 

There's plenty of tech under the hood, though. With Jim Ryan stating that the buds will offer a low latency connection (2.4GHz to you and me) and lossless audio, the PS5 earbuds look set to keep up with the rest of the competition. Add simultaneous Bluetooth connections and things are looking strong. 

We'll have to wait on a price announcement, though following the Pulse 3D headset's success at a sub-$100 / £100 position, we could be pleasantly surprised. More details are yet to come, so if you're after some of the best gaming earbuds for this PlayStation generation it might be worth holding off until we know more. 

The PS5 earbuds were announced alongside a dedicated Remote Play streaming device, consisting of a DualSense cut down the middle, wrapped around an 8-inch display. Again, we're still awaiting more information. 

We're also bringing you all the best gaming headsets on the market right now. Or, for more PS5 accessories, take a look at the best PS5 headsets available. 

PlayStation is getting a dedicated remote gaming later this year.

Announced earlier today on the PlayStation Showcase for May 2023, Project Q, as it's being called for now, is PlayStation's dedicated remote play device. It'll allow you to play any PS5 game on the go, and is basically PlayStation's play into the remote gaming space.

We know that Project Q will come with an eight inch HD display screen, so you can already imagine the sort of space you're going to need for using this thing on the go. It'll also come equipped with two controller halves on each side of the screen, which basically gives you a DualSense wireless controller on the go.

While this isn't quite a cloud gaming device, it's angled towards the remote play audience PlayStation already retains on its consoles. In other words, Project Q is going to be a big upgrade for the remote play audience, instead of Sony striking out into cloud gaming space in search of a new audience.

We'll have to wait until later this year to find out more about Project Q, but we shouldn't be waiting too long, considering the new accessory is set to launch later in 2023.

If you were ever hoping for a PS Vita successor, Sony just killed those hopes stone dead. Sorry about that, but here's hoping the PS Vita's demise gives rise to something better with Project Q.

Check out our upcoming PS5 games guide for a look at all the future games that we could well be utilizing on Sony's new cloud gaming initiative. 

Rumors of a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake have persisted for years, but the rumors have hit a fever pitch ahead of today's PlayStation Showcase, and series fans are about to come unglued.

These rumors come from a variety of sources, but perhaps the most complete report comes from Windows Central, which suggests that the MGS3 remake will be a multiplatform release across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, and in addition to this remake, we're also likely to see a "Classic Collection" including the original versions of the first three Metal Gear Solid games.

Video game leaks are a dime a dozen, and even prolific leakers with proven track records occasionally get things wrong, so you'd be forgiven for taking all this talk of the MGS3 remake with a grain of salt - especially given how long these rumors have been going on. But with many video game rumors, there's a point where the smoke becomes thick enough that fire is the only reasonable explanation, and there's enough smoke around MGS3 to choke Colonel Volgin himself.

The rumors are now strong enough that I'd be surprised if we didn't see MGS3 at the PlayStation Showcase - or somewhere later on the E3 2023 schedule - but unlike those with other big hopes for the show, Metal Gear fans are resolutely refusing to don their clown makeup today. Hopes are high, but expectations are very, very low.

We all know there's no remake coming, but I'm ready for the showcase regardless from r/metalgearsolid

Today is the Day! (Copium) from r/metalgearsolid

"MGS3 remake to be released in 2024, sources say..." from r/metalgearsolid

Made this in light of the rumors from r/metalgearsolid

Publisher Konami is clearly investing in revivals for its classic franchises, given everything announced at the Silent Hill stream last year, and a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake does make sense as a revival of the most-loved entry in a classic series. The real question is what happens to a new project given idiosyncratic director Hideo Kojima's messy break-up with Konami. The first post-Kojima series entry, Metal Gear Survive, certainly did little to endear itself to series fans.

Whether or not the remake is announced today, we've got a Metal Gear Solid 3 retrospective to tickle your nostalgia centers.

Final Fantasy 7, Bloodborne, and other fans are finding themselves applying their clown makeup ahead of today's PlayStation Showcase. 

As is tradition with every gaming showcase, fans are preparing to be let down when the game they're hoping to see doesn't make an appearance during the PlayStation event. We've seen it several times before - mainly with the Hollow Knight community - however, it seems several other communities are now following the trend.

Although PlayStation hasn't briefed fans on what exactly will appear at the showcase, we do know that it's set to feature over an hour's worth of PS5 and PSVR 2 content, as well as appearances from Sony's third-party developers and indie studios - so basically, anything is possible. If you did want to start theorizing though, you can take a look at our PlayStation Showcase predictions. 

So who exactly is donning the clown makeup this time around? Well, we've seen a lot of Bloodborne fans getting their hopes up for that remaster they've been requesting for a while now. There's also a lot of excitement surrounding Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Final Fantasy 16 - which fans are hoping will get some kind of release date/demo announcement today. 

The Last of Us fans are also starting to convince themselves that Part 3 will be revealed today, but considering we only just got The Last of Us Part 1, we highly doubt this one - sorry! A little more likely, and maybe this is just me putting my own clown makeup on, we've also seen a lot of fans wanting to see some kind of Kingdom Hearts 4-shaped announcement today. It's been over a year since the sequel was first revealed so it would be nice to see more of it. 

There's also a high possibility that we'll be seeing some brand new PlayStation IPs during the showcase. Earlier today, Sony shared its plans for the future revealing it aims to release two or more "major releases" each year, with 50% of PlayStation Studios' future investments going toward new PS5 IP. For now, we'll just have to wait and see, with a pack of makeup wipes on standby. 

If you'd like to be let down in real-time, make sure to take a look at our how to watch the PlayStation Showcase guide. 

What would constitute a successful PlayStation Showcase? Ahead of these types of events, we invariably pontificate on what we expect to see, what we'd love to see, and what would be so ridiculously unlikely that, actually, we'd really love to see that too. All of these things crossed my mind yesterday when penning our PlayStation Showcase predictions, and while I'm sometimes way off-base with speculative articles of this nature (seriously, how many times will I include Hollow Knight: Silksong in these things before I admit defeat?), I found writing up this particular list to be one of the most straightforward yet. 

We will see more from Marvel's Spider-Man 2, right? We're likely to see something from The Last of Us' long-awaited and much-anticipated multiplayer off-shoot, as per Neil Druckmann and Sony's previous admissions. Sony has already confirmed we're getting more in the way of PSVR 2 games, and, likewise, a closer look at what its PlayStation-owned studios are up to. If we get something from the many Silent Hill titles in the works, the much-rumored Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, and something Death Stranding 2-shaped, even better – but even if we don't, by simply showing us what are surely dead-certs at this point, I reckon we're in for an impressive hour's worth of reveals, teases and new footage. 

By simply showing up to this live showcase, then, it feels like Sony is already in the driving seat as we march towards the E3 2023 schedule proper.

Head-to-head

Not that I'm particularly interested in fanning the flames of the console wars. History proves that the big names have all had their high and low points over the years, but, more recently, Microsoft has endured a tough run. The beleaguered Activision-Blizzard acquisition has, of course, been well-publicized; but behind those drawn-out headline dramas lies the fact that Xbox hardware revenue plummeted 30% in the last year. In an earnings report published last month, Microsoft was quick to point out that, despite this, "Xbox content and services revenue grew 3% driven by growth in Xbox Game Pass," however the company's overall gaming revenue was down by 4% all told. At the same time, Sony announced that the PS5 is selling faster than PS4 in the US despite years of console shortages, and that the company's latest hardware had passed 500 million home consoles sold as a result.  

Add to this fact Arkane's Redfall failed to hit the mark with critics and players as an Xbox console-exclusive, and it feels like Microsoft is under a little more pressure than it'd prefer – at this point in the year, and at this juncture in the current console cycle. The fact that Bethesda's Starfield is also an Xbox console-exclusive, led GamesRadar+'s Heather Wald to suggest Starfield is under more pressure than ever to perform after Redfall, and it's hard to disagree with that. 

Back to Sony, and it really feels like the company has its work cut out for it ahead of today's PlayStation Showcase. Show up, show people what they expect to see, and step off stage with excited players. I'm oversimplifying, but the chance to set the tone ahead of Starfield Direct, Ubisoft Forward, Summer Game Fest and the Xbox Games Showcase will not be lost on Sony. 

With its in-person event no more, E3 season itself looks entirely different today as it once did. But I can't help but feel there are flavors of E3 2013 here – when Sony confidently outdid its old enemy by announcing PS4 discs could be freely shared, and played offline without DRM interference – or even E3 1995 and 1996, when the PSOne brushed off its competitors with price cuts. Xbox and PlayStation are no longer physically competing on a show floor side-by-side, but they've both got it all to prove as we enter the E3 2023 schedule in earnest. I'm not sure there needs to be a winner, I never have been, but it does feel like Sony and the PS5 are entering the ring brimming with confidence. Let the games begin. 

Here are some of the best upcoming PS5 games on the horizon

A possible imminent trailer for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has fans distraught over losing one of the only images they've ever known of the sequel.

Let's rewind a bit. Back in mid-2021, when Spider-Man 2 was officially announced, the image below was one of the few screenshots to come of the reveal trailer, showing Miles Morales and Peter Parker teaming up together. Fast forward to now, and this is still, somehow, one of the few screenshots we have of Insomniac's sequel.

This caused the image to gain cult status among the Spider-Man fandom. The last few months in particular have seen the image of the dynamic duo rise to new heights as a meme, as Miles and Peter were transported against their will into various other games, just like the image below.

"Miles, we should stick that needle in our arm" from r/SpidermanPS4

Today on May 24, Sony is set to premiere their blockbuster PlayStation Showcase, and it's expected Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will have a huge presence at the presentation. This expectation of new footage and screenshots has brought about posts like the one below, where Spidey fans are sad to say goodbye to their beloved image.

"Miles, this pose of us is finally fading away from the memory of r/spidermanps4. We're free." from r/SpidermanPS4

It's been a long road for the decidedly chill image of Miles and Pete, but now that road might just be coming to an end. If we really are in for new footage of Insomniac's sequel later today, this older image will probably be left in the dust, as millions of Spidey fans worldwide pore over every new screenshot and detail from the PlayStation Showcase.

September 9, 2021 - May 24, 2023 from r/SpidermanPS4

It's strange to think that it hasn't even been two years since Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was announced, but it still feels like forever ago. We're finally nearing the end of the long, winding road for Insomniac's sequel though, as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is set to launch at some point before the end of 2023.

Check out our full guide on how to watch the PlayStation Showcase for info on where and when the presentation is debuting.

That's a wrap on the PlayStation Showcase 2023 and we certainly got a slew of upcoming PS5 games announced, some updates and release dates, plus a few surprises. It wasn't quite the hotbed of AAA reveals we'd hoped for, but there is a lot to unpack here - including Marvel's Spider-Man 2 gameplay (but no release date), a new Bungie game, fresh Snake, and more. Here's the full PS5 Showcase games list to round up everything that was announced:

• Fairgames is a new Payday-like shooter from an Assassin's Creed lead
• Ghostrunner 2 gives cyberpunk speedrunning a wall-crawling motorcycle
• One of 2015's best shooters is getting a sequel on PS5 and PC, and it only took 8 years
• Immortals of Aveum got a magic-filled trailer
• Phantom Blade 0 is bringing intense samurai soulslike action to PS5
• Just when you thought Journey was the prettiest game out there, its artist reveals Sword of the Sea
• The Talos Principle 2 is real, and coming to PS5 this year
• Neva is the next game from the Gris developer and probably the next game to break my heart
• Cat Quest: Pirates of the Purribean is a cute adventure game
• Square Enix debuted Foamstars, a grown-up soapy Splatoon
• The Plucky Squire got another awesome trailer and 2023 date
• Teardown - the best heist game you've never played - is coming to PS5
• Metal Gear Solid 3 remake announced with the worst trailer imaginable
• A new Metal Gear Solid collection is bringing the original trilogy to PS5 this year
• Towers of Aghasba is a prehistoric survival game full of critters
• Final Fantasy 16 trailer shows off more Eikonic fights and brooding tension
• Alan Wake 2 trailer reveals release date and what looks like a second playable character
• Assassin's Creed Mirage does its best Assassin's Creed 2 impression in release date trailer
• Revenant Hill may not be Night in the Woods 2 but it certainly looks like it
• Granblue Fantasy Relink got a winter 2023 launch window
• Street Fighter 6 got a new, character-packed trailer
• Ultros is a stunning new looped-based adventure
• Dragon's Dogma 2's first gameplay trailer looks like the original but bigger and newer, and that's just what I wanted
• Five Night's at Freddys: Help Wanted 2 announced for late 2023
• Resident Evil 4 VR Mode is in development
• Arizona Sunshine 2 got announced with a 2023 launch window
• PSVR 2 FPS, Crossfire Sierra Squad, got a new trailer but no release date
• Synapse is coming to PSVR 2 on July 4
• Beat Saber is finally on PSVR 2 today, complete with Freddie Mercury
• Destiny 2 developer Bungie confirms rumored revival of Marathon, its pre-Halo shooter
• Destiny 2: The Final Shape is getting its own showcase and it looks like Cayde is back
• Concord is a competitive FPS from Destiny veterans
• Dedicated PlayStation streaming handheld device announced as Project Q
• The PS5 earbuds are real and will deliver lossless, low-latency audio
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 trailer introduces Kraven, shows off Symbiote suit

Morning folks! You've got Sam here signing in from sunny UK to start revving the hype machine for tonight's PlayStation Showcase! 

If there's a 100% guaranteed game to feature in today's PlayStation Showcase, surely - surely - it has to be Marvel's Spider-Man 2. With the game set to launch later this year, and rumors suggesting it's as soon as September, we're expecting to see some gameplay and get a release date for Insomniac's next title. 

After all, we've not seen much of the game since it was first announced way back in 2021 at the last big PlayStation Showcase. All we really know is that both Peter Parker and Miles Morales are in it, and Venom is one of the villains you'll be facing. 

Interestingly, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan says Marvel's Spider-Man 2 was made with "no compromises" as a PS5 exclusive, which suggests that the gameplay we should *hopefully* see could be seriously delicious - no loading screens, glorious raytracing, slick swinging... the list goes on.

In the Famitsu interview, Ryan talks up the visual of Insomniac's sequel as being "beautiful," and that the final result of their long development process is truly "impressive". Ho boy, we're in for a treat aren't we?

Outside of the inevitable Spidey, PlayStation itself has flagged that we'll be given a look at "several new creations from PlayStation Studios". 

Now, those studios could include several whose projects have yet to be announced, such as Ben Studio, Santa Monica Studio, Firesprite, Media Molecule, and more.  

Let's have a wander down memory lane shall we and recap some of the studios that PlayStation does have and what they could / are working on.

Take Bend Studios for example - which has brought us the Syphon Filter series and Days Gone. It's said that there won't be another Days Gone game (a big shame in my opinion), which means the studio must be working on something else. 

It tweeted as such earlier this year, and last year there was a PlayStation Blog post that detailed a new IP. It stated:

"We are currently working on a new IP that includes multiplayer and builds upon the open-world systems of Days Gone, but brings you a whole new world that we are extremely excited to craft for you. We cannot wait to reveal it to you when the time is right."

Is today the right time? We hope so!

Then there's Bluepoint Games - which most recently gave us the Demon's Souls remake that dropped as part of the PS5 launch lineup. At the end of 2022, it dropped a Christmas card that everyone thought was a tease for a new game in development. 

Each of the boxes have something that relates to its previous games (from left to right it's Demon's Souls, God of War, and Shadow of the Colossus), but there's one box that's unadorned...

Now, because it's sandwiched between other first-party PlayStation titles, everyone is hoping it's a Bloodborne remaster for PS5 and, eventually, PC. We don't know that's on the cards, but there have been so many rumors and requests over the years, it's definitely plausible.

Other studios that could reveal new games include Housemarque and Media Molecule. Housemarque has brought us games like Resogun and Returnal, and although we've had some chunky updates for the latter, we don't currently know what the next project is. 

As for Media Molecule, the studio recently announced that it is discontinuing live support for Dreams as of September 1, 2023 "to shift our focus to an exciting new project". Now, it might be that it's too early for this to get a reveal today, but we'd take a teaser for anything this creative studio is tackling next.

There's also Polyphony Digital, which recently brought us Gran Turismo 7. It could be that there's some DLC revealed later, but we sincerely doubt it would be anything new. 

However, there is at least a few rumblings about something new from Astro Bot creators Team Asobi. A new platformer perhaps? I still adore Astro's Playroom and all its fun tunes.

What about Sucker Punch though? The studio has brought us a variety of IPs over the years, from Sly Cooper and Infamous, to Ghost of Tsushima. Now, I'd take a new take on any of those games, but the rumors are pointing to it being Ghost of Tsushima 2. However, according to Jeff Grubb, it's unlikely to be at tonight's showcase... 

Guerrilla Games is an interesting one because it has just put out Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores, but has also been teasing what's to come in Horizon 3 - or whatever it's ultimately called. 

As a die-hard Aloy fan, obviously, that's high up my list of wants to get any kind of teaser for, but purely because of the proximity to Burning Shores' release, it feels too early to see anything quite yet for a Horizon Forbidden West sequel.

I'm going to take a little break to get a sandwich, but there are plenty more speculations to be had so stay tuned! 

Well hello there! I'm back, and it's really really warm out there folks. Wear sunscreen!

Right, where were we... PlayStation Studios!

So, we've talked about plenty so far, but what about Santa Monica. Well, November saw the release of God of War Ragnarok, which isn't looking like it'll get any DLC.

Game Director Eric Williams said on Kinda Funny Games that the team "put everything we had into it, so I wouldn't count on it."

But, Cory Barlog teased that he was working on a sci-fi project way back in 2019. It's not officially been announced or revealed, so that feels prime for an unveiling today.

Now, Naughty Dog is an entirely different proposition because thanks to Summer Game Fest last year, we know exactly what it's working on. 

The Last of Us is getting a massive standalone multiplayer game set in San Francisco,  and according to Neil Druckmann we'll hear "much more" about it this year.

 "It's an interesting experience for me because it's the first Last of Us game where I'm not the primary writer, I'm not the primary director," Druckmann said on the HBO Spoilercast for The Last of Us TV Show.

"What the team has put together is so cool. It's very different from what I would do but that's part of the exciting thing about it, with other people playing in this world," Druckmann continued.

It's apparently just "as big as one of our single-player games". 

PlayStation just dropped the YouTube link for the showcase, so bookmark it now friends.

So that's the core PlayStation Studios then, so what else could we see later? 

PlayStation also states it'll include games from "third-party partners and indie creators", so the potential remit of this PlayStation Showcase is huge. You can fit a surprising amount of reveals and updates into an "a little over an hour" showcase time!

PlayStation has also said it'll focus on "PSVR 2 games in development from top studios around the world". 

Now, PSVR 2 is a fantastic machine - I've played a lot behind the mask in the last few months - but it is lacking some big system sellers. Of course, Horizon: Call of the Mountain is fantastic, but otherwise we're mainly looking at re-releases of old games and some other new releases that aren't quite justifying the chunky price tag.

The one that could be interesting in that space is Firesprite. Acquired by Sony last year, Firesprite has made some excellent VR titles, and co-developed Horizon: Call of the Mountain. Could the British studio have something solo up its sleeves?

What time is the PlayStation Showcase in my timezone?

• 1PM PT
• 2PM MDT 
• 3PM CDT
• 4PM ET
• 9PM GMT
• 10PM CET
• 11PM EEST
• 5AM JST (May 25) 
• 4AM AWST (May 25)
• 6AM AEST (May 25)

The lovely Joe Donnelly has put together some excellent PlayStation Showcase predictions of his own. 

How do you think they stack up?

So, what else could we see? We already have quite a few new PS5 games that have been confirmed but lack release dates or have gone suspiciously quiet. 

For example, Insomniac's other superhero game - Marvel's Wolverine. Announced back in 2021, we've not heard anything about the title since. All we've had is a 53-second trailer, which essentially showcases the start of a bar fight in the Princess Bar – AKA Logan's home away from home on the island of Madripoor - and Wolverine's claws coming out. And... that's it! What a teaser eh?

I'd imagine it's too early for anything on Wolverine, but we can dream!

Or there's Death Stranding 2. Announced at The Game Awards back in December, we know it's another PlayStation exclusive game, which makes it rather appropriate to feature here - although Keighley and Kojima's friendship could mean it's a Summer Game Fest featurette. It's early days for this game too, development wise, so maybe it's a little soon for any further updates.

And that's Sam signing off for now, I'm passing over to the much funnier Rollin to take you through the next few hours of chin-scratching and pondering! 👋

This is Rollin signing on! Goodness gracious, Sam. Calling me funny as you head out is a wee bit terrifying. Suddenly, I feel the need to be hilarious.

Um. Knock, knock?

While it is technically possible that the Star Wars: KOTOR remake makes an appearance today, it does seem rather unlikely. Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors declined to comment on the status of game earlier -- which reportedly wasn't going great as of last year.

But who knows? Maybe the decline had more to do with the fact that more was coming later today, negating the need for comment. Maybe there will be a trailer of some sort at the PlayStation Showcase, or even a release date. Or maybe that's all just wishful thinking.

Given the timing, another potential candidate for today is Capcom's Street Fighter 6. The upcoming fighting video game concluded an Open Beta over the last weekend, and it's set to release on June 2 for the PS5, PS4, PC, and Xbox Series X.

And suddenly, there's a PlayStation Showcase that just so happens to thread the needle between those two dates? It almost seems too perfect. What Capcom could possibly announce is anyone's guess as it certainly seems like the game's initial roster is set and public knowledge. Much like Jello, however, there is always room for more.

Speaking of video games with suspiciously near release dates, it seems fairly certain that we might hear more about Final Fantasy 16 from Square Enix. After all, it is set to release on June 22 for the PS5 only. That seems like exactly the sort of thing a PlayStation Showcase would, well, showcase.

Some chunky previews, including one from our own Iain Harris, dropped earlier this week, so what better way to follow up on what seems to have been largely positive impressions than to show off more of the game to the public? It's also already known that there will be a Final Fantasy 16 demo, so the timing seems right for a surprise release of that, or at least an announcement of when it's coming.

Speaking of Square Enix and the Final Fantasy franchise, there's actually another major Final Fantasy title that's currently expected to release for the PS5 by the end of the year: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.

Relatively little is known about the second game in a trilogy of new Final Fantasy 7 titles at this point despite what is an increasingly closer launch window that was revealed as "next Winter" in June 2022. That said, the first look trailer featured Cloud and Sephiroth exploring some familiar territory outside of Midgar in addition to some teasing of Zack's role... it's all a bit mysterious still, but perhaps not for much longer.

90 MINUTES TO GO

We're just an hour and a half away from things kicking off! Set your timers, folks!

Could today finally be the day that we see more of Capcom's Pragmata? Originally announced back at E3 2020 for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, the game slipped to a 2023 release window near the end of 2021 and... hasn't really been heard from since.

The title's setting is "a dystopian near-future on Earth's Moon," according to the initial announce, that is "an unforgettable adventure." It seems to feature space? And a little blonde girl (?), and a holographic cat? It's all a bit vague right now, but maybe that all changes in a couple of hours.

1 HOUR TO GO

The PlayStation Showcase will start in one hour! You have been warned!

What seems far more likely to make an appearance today is Lords of the Fallen from Hexworks. The rebooted title finally got an official gameplay trailer earlier this month and an official release date of October 13. There's not really all that long before the latest Soulslike comes out.

The dark fantasy action-RPG making an appearance at the PlayStation Showcase today makes a lot of sense, but if it does somehow skip it, it all but confirms an appearance at one of the several upcoming events in the month to follow around Summer Game Fest given the developer finally seems ready to show it off in earnest.

30 MINUTES TO GO

Just 30 minutes to go until the PlayStation Showcase. Time to gather your snacks and the like.

Look, this is not the best place to share this news, but Tina Turner's died. I share this with you not because it's the best or most appropriate place for it, but because the news broke and we're all here together, and maybe now we'll all listen to some Tina before the PlayStation Showcase starts properly. I share this because my mom's going to be devastated, and I think I'll call her soon.

15 MINUTES TO GO

That's your 15-minute warning klaxon, so get comfy now!

Not long to go now! And that might mean... not long before the reveal of a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake. Yes, really. Rumors have circulated for years about such a thing from Konami, but a report today from Windows Central states in no uncertain terms that we should expect the remake at today's PlayStation Showcase.

Does that mean it is guaranteed to make an appearance? No, of course not. Does it make it far more like than not, despite the fact that it would be a truly wild reveal? Yes. Yes, it does.

According to the report, the MGS3 remake will be multiplatform across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC, so if it is real then expect to see a lot of it over the next month.

That'll do it for me; Rollin signing off. Sam's back to shepherd us all through the PlayStation Showcase proper. (She is also funny, to be clear.)

Okay folks, Sam's back! Let's GOOOOOO

Is it me or is this music badass?

We are STAYING TUNED

Okay, let's do this! The PlayStation Showcase is starting now!

Haven title up first... That's Jade Raymond's new studio

Heist game by the looks, with a PayDay vibe

Lots of gadgets, which is giving it a Watch Dogs vibe to me

Seemingly PvP heists, with two teams of three trying to get to a safe

It's called Fairgame - coming to PS5 and PC!

Jimmy Ryan's here to chat all things PS5 - and we're talking about being in the third year of the PS5 now. Can't believe it's actually been that long!

Now we're taking a trip to Super Earth with some killer bugs... oh wait. It's a mock advert! Sneaky

Helldivers? Did I hear that right?

Is this a reimagining of the 2015 top-down shooter? 

Helldivers 2 - coming to PS5 and PC in 2023. A sequel then!

Next up we've got an EA Original - this is Immortals of Aveum, which we recently previewed.

Lengthy segment for this magic FPS that I'm very hyped for

505 Games up now with developer One More Level. We've got a sci-fi theme with a robot riding a bad ass motorbike

Ghostrunner 2 coming to PS5 later this year.

66 days to live in this one

These are very much weapons that you don't want to mess with. Lots of Samurai action going on here

I will suck at this game. I can tell you that for free.

It's called Phantom Blade 0. Coming to PS5. No word on a release date for this one. 

OMG IS IT JOURNEY 2

It has to be, right?

Giant Squid presents.... come on give us the name. 

We've got lots of sand, dolphins in the sky, and skateboarding. 

It's called Sword of the Sea and it's coming to PS5. Journey 2 in all but name perhaps?

Talos Principle 2 announced there with a very intriguing trailer. Coming to PS5 in 2023.

A game where you play as a Swallow from the creators of Gris up next. Oh wait, maybe a lady with animal friends

I'm not down with giant mystical wolf killing guys.

Oh boy, this one is going to be a tearjerker isn't it.

Coming 2024 and it's called Neva. Looks absolutely beautiful.

Cat Quest.... coming 2024. Terrible cat pun involved.

Square Enix enters the room with a glorious neon sign.

PvP Square Enix game with excellet ray-tracing going on here

Are we surfing on foam here? It's got Splatoon vibes!

It looks ooookay gameplay wise, but those cut scenes are slick. Coming to PS4 and PS4 it's called Foamstars. 

The Plucky Squire looks so cool! Already announced, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a release date.

Coming 2023. I'll take it.

Teardown coming to PS5?

Excellent voxel heist game this one, which has been excellent on PC.

Here's Foamstars for you >>>

Teardown coming to PS5 this year.

Oh gosh, that's some high-rez ants right there.

Is this a twisted David Attenborough documentary?

OMG our team were just joking it would be a snake-eater joke and here we are. Snake's back with Metal Year Solid Snake Eater

Coming to PS5 - no release date.

MGS Vol 1 collection also announced with just a slide!

MGS 1, 2 and 3 in one package. Coming Autumn 2023 on PS5.

SNAAAAAAAAAKE

Getting Kena and the Bridge of Spirits vibes from this next one, as you work to restore the lands. Lots of giant bugs and creatures.

Towers of Agashba is it's name.

Square Enix is back with something else now - ho boy this showcase is going FAST! We're half-way through

Final Fantasy 16 and its protagonist Clive is here. We predicted that there would be some kind of presence here for this, with the June 22 release date not far away now.

It's definitely the most dramatic trailer so far! Feeling it

Fun fact - Final Fantasy 16 is the 16th announcement in the show

Halfway point folks. It's been big so far

Alan Wake 2. I'd know that voice anywhere

Who's this FBI lady and IS THAT SAM LAKE

Holy crap, we're not playing as Alan Wake?

Holy moly, she's just found a very grubby and disheveled Alan Wake!

Have to say, this looks better than I could have even imagined. 

Coming October 17, 2023.

Assassin's Creed Mirage now. Give me a release date for Basim's adventures please!

Oh this looks gloriously Assassin's Creed 2 and I am SO here for it

October 12! Pre-orders open now. 

Also available on PS4.

Revenant Hill! Night in the Woods 2 essentially?!

Granblue Fantasy Re:Link coming Winter 2023.

Capcom here now with Street Fighter 6 - just a few weeks ahead of its June 2 release date.

Good look at so many of the Street Fighter 6 roster here with their PS5 glowups.

Wow, what is this? 70s color scheme and psychadelic monsters.

It's called Ultros and it's coming in 2024.

Tower of Fantasy up now 

Swimming confirmed??

Dragon's Dogma 2 is here!

I'm pleased there's a dragon in this trailer.

No release date for Dragon's Dogma 2.

Five Nights at Freddy's Help Wanted announced for late 2023.

We're onto PSVR 2 games now - I assume just for a little bit?

Resident Evil 4 VR coming to your eyeballs soon

No release date yet, just "in development"

Fred is dead in this new zombie VR game

Loving the little notes telling you what to do in scribbled handwriting. This guy is having a good time.

Arizona Sunshine 2 this is! And it's coming this year.

Smilegate Entertainment up next with Crossfire Sierra Squad, the FPS title that's exclusive to PSVR 2. No release date again though!

NDreams new game here now - an update on one already announced.

I really love the look of this one, with its mix of gravity powers and guns.

Synapse is coming July 4.

Oh hello Beat Saber for PSVR 2

Queen Pack out and it's out today on PSVR 2

Another Bungie game, another giant moon.

It's called Marathon and I'm intrigued.

Oh heck, Bungie why you bringing Cayde-6 back into my life.

Destiny 2: The Final Shape Conference confirmed for August 22.

Concord coming to PS5 and PC 2024.

And here was me thinking Gran Turismo wouldn't feature... but it's the movie! Forgot about that one.

Jim Ryan's back! What's he up to

"Later this year we'll launch a dedicated device" for streaming!

8-inch HD screen. All the buttons of a DualSense. Cloud gaming handheld?

Also first ever earbuds!

and here's what it looks like

Kraven the Hunter vs Spider-Man!

Symbiote Spider-Man confirmed!

Oh Miles' has little squirrel wings on his suit!

What was that big flying thing that looks like Skarmony from Pokemon?

So it's Peter Parker with the Venom powers then eh?

"Harry's dying and he's the only one that can help"

Swinging from bridges and then jumping onto jetskis will never not look fun!

Looks like we'll be playing distinct bits of each mission as each of the Spider-Men - at least for this particular mission it seems.

Oh boy, Peter Parker is full of rage.

Lizard lurking in the river here

The more I see, the more I love!

Excellent setpieces as you'd hope from Insomniac's Spider-Man titles.

Uh oh, Pete's personality is changing and everyone knows it. 

Still no release date, still Fall 2023.

Well it looks like that's your fill folks, with this little round-up showing off some of the titles we just saw. 

Intriguing that there are still a lot of question marks and some big missing pieces!

Okay, right, let's take a look at rounding all of that up shall we!

Just in case you need it, here are all the new PSVR 2 announcements from the PlayStation Showcase

And here's Ali Jones with an initial reaction on the PlayStation Showcase

Morning folks, it's Sam here in the UK again. We'll be updating this blog throughout the day to keep you abreast of all the other interesting tidbits we're finding from last night's showcase and the games on show there.

First up, according to Insomniac The Spider-Man 2 release date reveal is coming "soon". Surely it's prime for a dedicated PlayStation State of Play soon?

Insomniac has said "watching your reactions today has been spectacular" after last night's showcase, but does acknowledge there are still a lot of questions to answer.

If you have questions about what's new for Snake, Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is a "faithful" story recreation, but offers evolved gameplay and visuals.

Physical fans, please note - Alan Wake is getting a digital-only release to help keep its price at $60.

"Not releasing a disc helps keep the price of the game at $59.99 / €59.99 and the PC version at $49.99 / €49.99," reads an FAQ published after the showcase aired.

OPINION

Opinion time! Joe Donnelly thinks Spider-Man 2's spectacle looks amazing, but I want to see more of its GTA 5-style character switching

Related to that, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 ends an 18-year wait to return to Queens, and fans are buzzing.

Back over in Metal Gear land, Metal Gear Solid 3 remake's level design looks identical to the original. Thanks to some official screenshots, we can see just how close they come to the original game's level design.

Oh wow, you guys have been busy! The secret Marathon trailer unlocked through community sleuthing confirms you won't hear more about the game for a while.

In the secret trailer, general manager Scott Taylor says that now that the reveal is out of the way, "we are going to go dark for a while - for an extended period - while we focus on developing and playtesting the game. Next time you hear from us, we're gonna be much closer to release, and we'll be ready to reveal gameplay."

OPINION

Joe Donnelly has all the opinions today, including I thought Spider-Man 2 couldn't match the first game – it took less than 10 seconds to change my mind.

Honestly, Venom Spidey has so much power.

Alan's next adventure is going to be lengthy in the end, as Remedy has confirmed that Alan Wake 2 will get free DLC and two full expansions.

"We will be supporting Alan Wake 2 post-launch with both free content as well as two paid expansions. The expansions are called Night Springs and the Lake House, but that's all we are going to tell you about them. For now," the official blog post reads, ending on the promise of a reveal soon.

This one made me so confused last night, because that little cat is a total dupe for Mae from Night in the Woods. But, Revenant Hill deliberately uses the same art style, and is being made by some of the original developers. 

Speaking about the reveal, The Night in the Woods dev sure had a stressful night, but promises to talk "much more" about Revenant Hill soon. 

Sometimes with big events like the PlayStation Showcase, it's as much about what wasn't show as what was. That's exactly what Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth fans are thinking, as the community is in shambles over PlayStation Showcase no-show. 

Is it a triangle? Is it a delta symbol? A typo? Well, the MGS3 dev has explained 'Metal Gear Solid Triangle' confusion, but fans are still finding it all a bit much.

So, following plenty of fan confusion, Konami put out the following on Twitter:

“The Delta symbol was chosen because its meaning fits the concept of the remake project. Delta means ‘change’ or ‘difference’ without changing structure.”

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 could be pointing to a very different take on Venom, or so that's what fans think. They're of the belief that Insomniac's effort might be gearing for a twist on the traditional portrayal of Venom. 

OPINION

Joe Donnelly says that if you think the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake reveal was too cheesy you weren't there the first time around. I think he might be right!

Ah the console wars continue, but Xbox picked the best/worst time to remind fans that it's also getting some of those PlayStation Showcase games

OPINION

Our resident Remedy expert, Josh West, says Alan Wake 2 isn't what I was expecting, and it's all the better because of it

OPINION

Next up, we've got Duncan Robertson wondering exactly who PlayStation's new streaming handheld is for. He thinks that PlayStation's Project Q is missing the handheld mark, here's why

Sasuke Uchiha, is that you? We didn't expect to hear Naruto's most emo ninja during the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 trailer, but we're here for it. 

OPINION

Phantom Blade Zero is the perfect post-Elden Ring tonic I've been waiting for, says Joe Donnelly with his final opinion of the day. I've not heard of Rainblood but this does look epic.

We're counting down the hours to the big event, and if you want to know how to watch the PlayStation Showcase, we've got what you need right here.

The PlayStation Showcase is set to broadcast on Wednesday, May 24, at 1pm PDT / 4pm EDT / 9pm BST through the official PlayStation YouTube and Twitch channels. You can follow those links when the time comes, or simply bookmark this page and watch the embedded video below.

Sony hasn't provided too many hints on what to expect from the show, offering only this blurb in the official announcement: "The show will run a bit over an hour, focusing on PS5 and PS VR2 games in development from top studios from around the world. Expect a glimpse at several new creations from PlayStation Studios, as well as spellbinding games from our third-party partners and indie creators."

The PlayStation Showcase is typically the big event Sony hosts around E3 time, though the company did not hold one in 2022. The 2021 PlayStation Showcase saw the reveal of Wolverine and Spider-Man 2 from Insomniac and our first proper look at God of War Ragnarok. With that in mind, it's reasonable to expect this show to be a big one.

Our PlayStation Showcase predictions include everything from the rumored Metal Gear Solid 3 remake to the confirmed Last of Us multiplayer spin-off, but the safest bet is certainly Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which is still set to launch this year. With a full hour to fill, we'll surely see a whole lot more new games for 2023 here, too.

The showcase is effectively the kickoff for the cobbled-together E3 2023 schedule which, despite E3 itself being canceled, is looking strong, with Summer Game Fest, Future Games Show, Xbox Games Showcase, Starfield Direct, and Ubisoft Forward all set to broadcast over the next few weeks.

You can stick with us for all the news on the biggest upcoming PS5 games.

PlayStation has finally announced its next long-awaited games showcase.

Earlier today on May 17, PlayStation unveiled when its next State of Play games showcase would be taking place. The presentation will be premiering on Wednesday, May 24, meaning we'll only have to wait exactly one week for a look at the future of PlayStation games. 

The whole thing will be taking place at 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET/9 p.m. GMT next week, and the entire thing will be running at right around an hour in total, making it one of the bigger PlayStation broadcasts in recent memory. There'll also be a big focus on both PS5 and PSVR 2 games, as well as new IP from PlayStation-owned studios

It's not hard to imagine which PlayStation games fans will be desperate for a look at. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has been on the lips of just about everyone with a PS5 over the last few months, as the anticipation increases for the sequel before it eventually launches towards the end of this year.

Additionally, we could be in for another look at Final Fantasy 16. Square Enix's next RPG is set to launch just next month on June 22, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if PlayStation debuts one big final trailer for their console exclusive before it launches worldwide next month.

Here's hoping there's also some smaller treats for the indie-lovers out there. It's been a long time since we've seen anything of the promising Little Devil Inside, which hooked audiences years ago with its suitably creepy aesthetics. Could the indie gem finally be ready for a new unveiling at the next State of Play showcase?

Check out our upcoming PS5 games guide for a look ahead at everything else Sony has on their schedule for the next year or so.

Take a deep breath and try to remain calm, because it sounds like PlayStation will hold a summer showcase sometime in the next few weeks, exactly as it has for the past several years.  

Discussion of the staggeringly precedented event kicked off earlier today following an innocuous tweet from leak merchant Jeff Grubb, who reckons this year's PlayStation showcase will air the "week of May 25." Grubb was quick to soften this claim, already so soft you could spread it on toast, and clarify that it "could happen earlier." A few other journalists and leakers have chimed in as well, collectively claiming that 'thing will happen at time thing happens.' 

May 25 is a reasonable guess because it's a Thursday, which seems to be Sony's favorite day of the week for these shows. The timeline is also safe, as the week of May 25 technically covers June 1, one day before last summer's big State of Play. We saw a rare July show in 2021 and another June show in 2020, so yeah, sometime in the next few weeks is a pretty safe bet. 

Chatter around this year's summer schedule has been especially heated on the heels of E3 2023's formal cancellation. Its fate had been written on the wall for weeks, what with all the major platform holders and multiple big publishers backing out, and with E3 officially dead for the year, everyone wants to know what we can expect to see this summer. 

Our E3 2023 schedule will give you a day-by-day breakdown of the lineup that would have been E3, including the Summer Game Fest on June 8, our own Future Games Show on June 10, the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct on June 11, and Ubisoft Forward on June 12. 

Nintendo is reportedly skipping this year's summer shindigs on account of not having many games to show. 

This helpful roundup brings together all of the PS5 exclusives that have released so far, as well as all of the future PS5 exclusives confirmed to be on the way in one place.

2026 has been a busy year for PlayStation announcements and news, with the June 2026 PlayStation State of Play revealing more upcoming PS5 games in the pipeline - including a new PS5 exclusive God of War game starring Laufey. And with another look at the next big upcoming Marvel game featuring Wolverine, which is coming exclusively to the PS5 this September, there's plenty to keep track of.

Sony also announced that it will be ending physical disc production for new games in 2028, and with many future exclusives still yet to get release dates or launch windows, only time will tell if we'll see physical versions for some of them. In the meantime, you can find a full overview of all of the PS5 exclusives released so far in alphabetical order, as well as those confirmed to be on the way, with cross-gen releases for both PS4 and PS5 included further down.

Out now

Astro Bot

Our favorite little PlayStation robot returned with a fresh adventure simply called Astro Bot in 2024. It's a gorgeous action platformer set across over 50 planets, and it turns your DualSense into an in-game Dual Speeder to help him search for his lost pals. The adventure is packed with creative levels, inventive puzzles, Easter eggs, and memorable boss fights to boot. Coming out to a chorus of glowing praise, the return of the little bot is one unmissable PS5 exclusive - for more on why, be sure to check out our Astro Bot review.

Astro's Playroom

Astro's Playroom may seem like a mere tech demo to showcase PS5 features, from ray tracing to the adaptive triggers of the DualSense PS5 controller, but that assumption couldn't be farther from reality. This pocket-sized adventure (around 3 hours in length, with potentially more for the platinum) is an endearing tribute to the PlayStation franchise, featuring callbacks to previous consoles and games.

But it also manages to provide a platforming experience that is charming as it is polished, and the fact that it comes pre-loaded with the console means that you can, and should, start playing right away while you finish setting everything up. You can read our Astro's Playroom review for more details!

Code Violet

Code Violet kicked off 2026 in terms of PS5 exclusives. You play as Violet Sinclair, who must uncover the truth behind Aion Bioengineering Complex while also avoiding getting killed by a ton of dangerous creatures. It's a third-person action horror title that looks pretty out there with dinosaurs and dramatic moments populating its trailers.

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach

Death Stranding 2 reunites us with Sam played by Norman Reedus as he sets out to save humanity from extinction. Set against the open-world backdrop of Australia this time around, the adventure explores human connection, brings back the unique social aspect of building and sharing with other players in a more approachable, combat-focused experience that looks and runs beautifully on the PS5 and PS5 Pro with very fast loading times. Check out our Death Stranding 2 review for more.

Demon's Souls

All stories start somewhere. FromSoftware's legacy began 11 years ago with Demon's Souls, one of the most intriguing and challenging titles of the PS3 era. Now, under Bluepoint's vision (the studio that brought back Shadow of the Colossus), the beginning of the 'soulsborne' genre gets the remake treatment on PS5. This is the same experience we remember, but it's almost indistinguishable over a decade later. With only a few touches here and there in terms of gameplay, Demon's Souls' biggest change comes from the way it looks and plays on this new console generation - it's a remarkable PS5 launch game that you shouldn't miss.

Destruction AllStars

Destruction AllStars introduces itself as a new IP of multiplayer competitive racing. Don't picture it as regular races, however - this is akin to the battle arenas of the Twisted Metal series or the collisions that you would see in a Burnout game, packed with a cast of 16 distinct characters. Perhaps its biggest twist comes when your car is destroyed: you will automatically enter a third-person view of your racer and move them around the map as if it were a different game. Its player base isn't as active as it was at launch, but if you can find a match in a timely matter, it can be a fun way to spend a couple of hours with your PS5.

Forspoken

Forspoken tells the tale of a young woman named Frey from New York City, who celebrates her 21st birthday by being transported to the world of Athia. A sentient cuff becomes your companion, a world of fantasy and mystery your playground, and magic your plaything. This game is at its best when you're exploring its world and pinging off magic spells, as the story and writing aren't always the strongest elements.

Ghost of Yotei

At long last, the sequel to Ghost of Tsushima is finally here, and has blown both critics and fans away. Much like its predecessor, Ghost of Yotei is a thrilling samurai action game that will take players on a sweeping journey, combining a razor-sharp combat experience with a sprawling narrative for the ultimate warrior fantasy. All packaged up in staggering graphical fidelity, Ghost of Yotei brings to life an open world begging to be explored. If you want to learn more about this 2025 addition, you can head on over to our Ghost of Yotei review.

God of War Sons of Sparta

God of War Sons of Sparta is a 2D action platformer from developer Mad Cat Studios and Santa Monica Studio. Released in 2026 exclusively for the PS5 on the same day as its surprise reveal during the PlayStation State of Play February 2026 showcase, Sons of Sparta follows a young Kratos who trains to be a Spartan warrior alongside his brother, Deimos. When a fellow cadet goes missing, though, the pair set out on a adventure to try and find him, and put their Spartan skills to use. You can learn more about this retro-style metroidvania-like experience in our God of War Sons of Sparta review.

Horizon Zero Dawn remastered

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered presents Aloy's first adventure in stunning high fidelity, with "over 10 hours of re-recorded conversation, mocap, and countless graphical improvements" to bring it in line with Horizon Forbidden West. Sure, it had to compete alongside Dragon Age: The Veilguard when it was released, but with its low price tag and fresh coat of paint, it's well worth the money.

Infinity Nikki

The 5th game in the Nikki Up2U franchise has been confirmed as a PS5 exclusive and launched on December 5, 2024. This open-world dress-up adventure game, where you must craft and find outfits with special powers, may not be everyone's cup of tea. But with over 20 million pre-registrations recorded, you can't deny it's popularity. In fact, from our short time playing the game, we absolutely loved it. The visuals are stunning and the world completely captivated us (not surprising given the fact that the game is headed by former Breath of the Wild dev Kentaro Tominaga).

Lost Soul Aside

Landing in August 2025, Lost Soul Aside brought its dangerous dimension exclusively to PS5. In the action-adventure, you take on the role of Kaser, who sets out to save his sister after her soul is taken by invading beings known as the Voidrax. With a giant sword in hand, Lost Soul Aside is like a blend of Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry, which we explore in more depth in our Lost Soul Aside review.

Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered

A beautifully remastered version of one of 2018's best superhero games, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered takes an already great game and makes it better. Thanks to 4K resolution, ray tracing support, and a buttery smooth 60 FPS (in performance mode), swinging around New York City as Spider-Man and beating up goons is more satisfying than ever. The framerate boost is especially appreciated during fast-paced, high-intensity scenes, which, let's face it, make up about 90% of the game. Even if you've played the original game on PS4 already, it's worth picking up on PS5 (it's free if you own the game on PS4) For more, check out our glowing Spider-Man Remastered review.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Announced during the September PlayStation showcase in 2021, Marvel's Spider-Man 2 saw the two Spider-Men - Peter Parker and Miles Morales - team up. The game was released in 2023 and is fantastic. In fact, we gave it five stars in our Spider-Man 2 review. The game is fun, the story is fast-paced, and all the wall-crawling and web-swinging mechanics are a dream. It's a must-play for sure.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is as triumphant a return as they come for the titular duo: a visual showcase for the PS5, a well-written story right up there with the best Pixar movies, and simply a blast of a platformer from front to back. If you want something to show off what your PS5 can do, you can't beat Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and it comes with the bonus of being an incredibly polished, well-made platformer/shooter, even without considering its technical accomplishments. Read our Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart review for more insights.

Returnal

As stunningly beautiful as it is blisteringly challenging, Housemarque's 2021 roguelike Returnal will test your patience at the same time as it challenges your expectations about what's possible on PS5. It makes full use of Sony's hardware to deliver a visual spectacle, buttery smooth performance, and a new level of immersion thanks to its creative utilization of the DualSense's adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. If you want more details, read our Returnal review.

Saros

Saros is the latest game from Returnal studio, Housemarque. As an action game that's framed as the "ultimate evolution of Housemarque's gameplay-first experience", it officially released in April 2026 as a PS5 exclusive. In Saros, you take on the role Arjun Devraj (played by Rahul Kohli), who's what's known as a Soltari Enforcer. Sent to investigate a missing mining colony, you'll venture to the shape-shifting planet of Carcosa. As we highlight in our Saros review, it delivers fast-paced, reactive combat and an arresting story.

Silent Hill: The Short Message

Silent Hill: The Short Message is a free-to-play psychological horror game which landed exclusively on PS5 back in 2024. From Konami and developer HexaDrive, the short first-person experience follows a teenager called Anita as she explores a derelict apartment building. Drawing on themes such social media and bullying, it's a curious experiment in the Silent Hill series, which you can learn more about in our Silent Hill: The Short Message review.

Stellar Blade

Coming from Korean developer Shift Up, Stellar Blade allows you to "explore the mysteries of Earth's downfall." It's a third-person action game where you wield katanas as you flip about pulling off various acrobatics. As we mentioned in our Stellar Blade review, it's an impressive visual treat that may have some clunkiness, but it's still a decent action RPG and PS5 exclusive.

Sword of the Sea

Sword of the Sea is the new game from Giant Squid Studios, and you'll probably guess by the art style that it's from developers who brought us Journey, Abzu, and The Pathless. It's stunning to look at and sees you sand surfing on a quest to find a lost ocean. Ruins become your skateparks as you jump aboard your hoversword as Wraith, who's trying to restore life to this sand-covered world.

Towers of Aghasba

Stunning open-world Zelda-like adventure Towers of Aghasba entered Early Access in 2024. In this beautiful indie game, players take on the role of a junior architect in the displaced Shimu tribe, newly returned to their ancestral homeland some 50 years after the invasion that pushed them out. Turning an arid, broken landscape into a thriving community looks and sounds like a beautiful experience already, and we can't wait to see more of the Towers of Aghasba.

The Midnight Walk

The Midnight Walk from the ex-Lost in Random creators brings to life a stunningly creepy fantasy world by sculpting everything by hand in clay and then 3D scanning it all and making us of stop motion. It all comes together to turns its nightmarish setting into a veritable treasure trove of spooks, puzzles, and adventure galore. It only gets more intense if you happen to be a PSVR2 owner as well.

The Last of Us Part 1

Naughty Dog's masterpiece, originally released on the PS3, has now made its way to the PS5 in the form of The Last of Us Part 1. This remake has been rebuilt from the ground up for the PS5, with upgraded visuals, DualSense features, modernized gameplay and mechanics, and accessibility options. It's the same game but brought into the PS5 generation in so many ways. If you want to read more about this PS5 version, check out our The Last of Us Part 1 review.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered

It might feel a smidgen too soon for a remaster of The Last of Us Part 2, which only debuted in 2020, but here we are. This PS5 exclusive version will include graphical enhancements, full DualSense integration and more, plus an all new gameplay mode that's a roguelike survival experience. It's a great version of the game. However, if you want to know more about the original, here is our The Last of Us 2 review.

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

A PS5 exclusive collection of two excellent Uncharted games gets you Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Both titles originally released on PS4, but the PS5 edition comes with deliciously improved visuals and frame rates. They're the closing arcs of the Uncharted narrative so far, and are both excellent adventures that link in together seamlessly.

Upcoming PS5 exclusives

Marvel's Wolverine

Release date: September 15, 2026

Like Spider-Man 2, Marvel's Wolervine was revealed during that epic 2021 September PlayStation showcase. In development at Insomniac Games right now, a September release date was officially announced in 2026. It's set to explore an original story across various locations around the world, with action-packed set pieces in what promises to be a "much darker and more brutal" experience than Insomniac's previous adventures.

Phantom Blade 0

Release date: October 29, 2026

Phantom Blade 0 is essentially the spiritual rebirth of a game called Rainblood. It's not a game that many in the West will have that much familiarity with, but it definitely looks epic. It's calling itself 'kungfupunk', and you play as an elite assassin serving an organization simply known as The Order. You're technically dead, but The Order has found a cure that happens to last for just 66 days.

Until Dawn 2

Release date: TBC 2027

Developed by first-party PlayStation studio, Firesprite, Until Dawn 2 was announced during the June 2026 State of Play and is currently slated to arrive sometime in 2027. Rather than a direct follow-up, the second Until Dawn is set to be a standalone horror with a fresh cast. Following a group of ghost hunters on an island who ended up facing very real scares, your decisions will once again shape the direction of the story and seal the fate of the characters.

God of War Laufey

Release date: TBC

During the June 2026 PlayStation State of Play, Santa Monica Studio unveiled a new God of War adventure that will follow warrior Laufey (Faye), Kratos' wife and the mother of Atreus. Acting as a continuation of the God of War (2018), God of War Laufey takes place after Faye's funeral, where she awakens is said to find "the plans she put in place to protect Kratos and Atreus who are now at risk". Now, she must fight through the afterlife of the gods to protect them both.

Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

Release date: TBC

Developer Naughty Dog is bringing us a brand new IP with the upcoming sci-fi game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. While we don't know much about this one, we do know that we'll be playing as the bounty hunter Jordan, who has to venture to a mysterious and dangerous planet called Sempiria. From the trailer that we've seen so far, the game looks fantastic. It's already one of our most anticipated PS5 exclusives in the pipeline right now.

Knights of the Old Republic Remake  

Release date: TBC

The Knights of the Old Republic Remake was first announced during a PlayStation showcase back in 2021 and was confirmed to be a PS5 launch exclusive. The remake is being helmed by Aspyr and Lucasfilm Games and is set to be a new version of the beloved RPG that was first released back in 2003 and was originally developed by BioWare. Honestly, it's one of the most exciting upcoming Star Wars games, but we don't have good news when it comes to its release date - it's been quite some time since we've had a big update on the game after a report from Bloomberg claimed the remake has been delayed indefinitely.

Fairgame$

Release date: TBC

Fairgames - or Fairgames$ as it's officially known - is the brand new project from equally brand new studio Haven, which is headed up by Jade Raymond. It's a PvP heist game where you're playing to rob the super-rich. You'll be trespassing across all sorts of locations, trying to hack vaults, steal secrets, and more.

PS4/PS5 exclusives

PS4 and PS5 cross-gen exclusives

There are some titles that are PS5 exclusives, but also happened to simultaneously debut on the PS4 too. We'll list those games below:

Goodbye Volcano High

Goodbye Volcano High is a narrative game from developer KO_OP that puts you in the role of Fang as they try to get through their final year in high school. We got another look at the game and its beautiful 2D animations during the February 2023 State of Play, before it arrived on PS5 back in August 2023. The trailer also gave us a glimpse of some of the interactions and minigames we get to encounter as we get to know the cast of characters.

Ultros

As you can probably tell by the screenshot, Ultros is a metroidvania that is somewhat psychedelic in nature, with color palettes and patterns pulled straight from the 70s. Turns out you've crashed your spaceship into a cosmic uterus that's holding a demonic being known as UItros. Suddenly you're trapped in an eternal loop of a black hole and must figure out how to break the cycle by exploring the Sacophagus and meeting its inhabitants.

Foamstars

Essentially Square Enix's take on Splatoon, Foamstars is a 4v4 shooter where you shoot foam instead of ink. It's bright, it's colorful, and pretty darn cute, but interestingly it's got some unique mechanics too. The foam itself can alter the terrain so you can build up your own battlements or just sud surf to get across the map.

God of War: Ragnarok

God of War: Ragnarok is that kind of sequel that any tidbit of news is poured over with fervor. Following on the narrative from the 2018 God of War reboot, we'll be back with Kratos and Atreus ahead of the world-shattering Ragnarok event, as they search for answers - and allies. Various Norse Gods and monsters will try to stand in their way as they travel the Nine Realms.

Horizon Forbidden West 

Aloy's second adventure arrived in March 2022, taking her to lands anew. As the title suggests, Horizon Forbidden West sees Aloy heading west into locales like Las Vegas and San Francisco in search of the source of a blight that's killing the Earth. What she finds are new tribes, fresh threats, but also friends old and new. It's a brilliant tale in one of the most impressive and full open worlds. The Burning Shores DLC only expanded it further, but it's worth noting the expansion is only available on PS5.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Sackboy: A Big Adventure launched as a launch title for PS5, but also dropped simultaneously on PS4. However, it's definitely best experienced on the newer console as the game really looks fantastic and utilizes the haptic feedback in the Dualsense to great effect.

It's Sackboy's first foray away from the LittleBigPlanet name too, so don't expect the creative elements of that original series here. This is a stunning story-driven title, with support for co-op too. It's inventive, playful, and utterly adorable, so well worth a play. If you want more details on this gem, you can read our Sackboy: A Big Adventure review.

Gran Turismo 7

PlayStation's premium racing sim is back with Gran Turismo 7. Although it's had a ropey launch with online and maintenance issues and discussions around updates, making the need for microtransactions slightly more prevalent, it's still a fantastic racer. It's a huge and utterly beautiful racing game that will no doubt earn it a position among the best PS5 games of all time eventually. But if you want to give this PS5 exclusive a chance, head to our Gran Turismo 7 review for more details.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Arriving as a PS5 launch title, and also launching on PS4, this smaller Spider-Man story follows the titular Miles Morales as a direct sequel to the last PS4 Spider-Man game. He's just got his powers, and he's figuring out how to be his own version of the friendly neighborhood superhero.

Peter Parker is his mentor, but he has his own powers - including electric venom blasts, camouflage, and other gadgets. It's set in the same world but with the focus being on Spanish Harlem, and Morales' immediate friends and family. As we point out in our Spider-Man: Miles Morales review, it might be a more compact story than the main Spider-Man entry, but this game is probably more impactful.

Director's Cuts

Some of the PS5 exclusives also include Director's Cut editions of PS4 games - essentially re-releases of the PS4 titles but with souped up graphics, and other additional features like DualSense haptics.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut

Not only did the Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut give us a brilliant graphical upgrade, but it also gave us the top-notch DLC - Iki Island - bundled in for good measure. This is a 4K 60fps experience on PS5, with support for 3D audio and DualSense haptic feedback too. It's the premium experience for Jin's story.

Death Stranding: Director's Cut

Death Stranding was the second Director's Cut to emerge and again brought this PS4 exclusive to PS5 with a new 4K 60fps sheen. It features additional story content, weapons and vehicles, a competitive ranking system, and more among the usual PS5 additions like DualSense haptics. Kojima calls it the "definitive" Death Stranding experience, and who are we to argue?

PS5 exclusives FAQS

Look back at more of PlayStation's highlights with our pick of the best PS4 games.

After an absolutely jam-packed 40-minutes, it turns out the PlayStation Showcase was absolutely worth the wait. We got new games, big updates for PS5 titles, and a handful of release dates that all culminated in an event that set the gaming industry alight. Here's everything announced at the PlayStation Showcase:

Knights of the Old Republic Remake

The rumors were true, with the PlayStation Showcase starting out with the reveal of a Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake. From developer Aspyr, the trailer didn't show off actual gameplay, but instead, Darth Reven walked slowly towards us out of the darkness. No word on a release date but it's coming exclusively to PS5 and PC. 

Project Eve

There's a big Bayonetta feel to Project Eve's incredible-looking shiny future apocalypse. It's a game full of massive weapons, and even bigger combos and moves as you battle a horror show of monsters. It's all tentacles and openings with skittering eldritch… things and monstrous hulking demons as you fight back in a fast back and forth of blows, parries, and dodges. 

Tiny Tina's Wonderlands

We got a look at the first gameplay footage for Tiny Tina's Wonderlands and it's positively oozing with Tiny Tina sass. The Dragon Lord has returned, and now it's up to TT and co to take them down. It had a very 'what if Borderlands was DnD' feel, with characters wielding a gun in one hand, magic in the other. It also featured skeletons, pirates, shark monsters, and other beasties, and also delivered us a confirmed March 25, 2022 release date. 

Forspoken

Although the trailer was almost overshadowed by the glorious cat at the beginning, we also got a fantastic look at the gameplay you should expect in Forspoken. Our heroine goes from a commute on a bus to discovering a portal that warps her to a majestic castle. Before she knows it, she's got a giant golden cuff talking to her. Magic powers are suddenly gifted to her, from a powerful leap, grapple-style move, and more, it's all go in Forsaken. It's coming in Spring 2022. 

Rainbow Six: Extraction

A fresh trailer for Rainbow Six: Extraction dropped as part of the PlayStation showcase, blending gameplay with an exploration of some of the story elements of the game. We got a look at a variety of creatures, a look at the titular extraction mechanic, and some of the returning Rainbow Six tactics like barricades and other gadgets. 

Alan Wake Remastered

Another first look at gameplay came in the form of the upcoming Alan Wake Remaster. This is the first time the game has even been released on PlayStation, so it was a powerful showcase. Enhanced graphics will no doubt make everything even more creepy in Bright Falls, but thankfully you'll have your trusty flashlight to help you weaken enemies as you try and save your wife Alice. We also got confirmation that the remaster is dropping on October 5, narrowing it down from the original Fall release date window revealed only in the last few weeks. 

Grand Theft Auto 5

We got a look at GTA 5, again, with its latest PS5 remake promising improved graphics and enhanced gameplay, and seamless character switching, which we can only assume will be even faster with that PS5 SSD loading times. It'll also bring with it a PS5 version of GTA Online when it arrives in March 2022. 

Ghostwire: Tokyo

It's hard to get a read on exactly what Ghostwire: Tokyo is. It looks great but appears to be a strange mix of fast first-person shooter action with Japanese folklore and ghosts. That sees you battling an unpleasant range of Slender Man enemies, creepy ghost nuns, and school children, and yokai-inspired monsters. There are also a few brief glimpses of what appear to be more traditional horror moments that suggest a crazy mix of scary shooter action. 

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 

While the latest reveal of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy showed more of the Universal Church of Truth as the main enemies testing Peter and the gang, the biggest thing snuck in was a space combat reveal. A brief clip showed what looked like the Milano barrel rolling through space, dodging bullets, and firing back at incoming ships. It also looks like Cosmo the Dog will be playing a bigger part than just a cameo while helping the Guardians out. You can take to space and see what else the game has to offer when it arrives on October 26. 

Bloodhunt

Sony revealed the Vampire Masquerade battle royale will be coming to PS5 later this year. While the gameplay showed the same Prague-based rooftop shootouts currently in the PC early access alpha, it also revealed a more streamlined menu as you flipped between playable characters. There are six classes to choose from, spread across the three clans - the brutish Bruja, support-styled Toreador, and stealthy Nosferatu. 

Deathloop

I think at this stage we have as many questions as Colt for Deathloop. Ahead of its September 14 release next week, we got one final look at Arkhan's Deathloop. The (we assume) final trailer for the game starts out with a propaganda-like video for the Aeon company, although featuring lots, and lots of murder and explaining that it's an endless party that you can never leave. This was followed by narration from Colt, showcasing the visual prompts you'll see as you move around the world that will give you clues as to what is going on. 

Kid A Mnesia

Epic Games and band Radiohead are partnering up for an interactive experience called Kid A Mnesia. It's not entirely clear what exactly it'll be like to experience, but it's described as "an upside-down digital/analog universe created from original artwork and recordings to commemorate 21 years of Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac". It's coming to PS5 in November 2021.  

Tchia

One of the cutest reveals of the PlayStation Showcase was Tchia; a brand new, open-world adventure. You'll be able to explore a tropical archipelago on your boat, but also use your ability to possess animals and use them to solve puzzles. You'll have a few other things in your arsenal, including a parachute, all of which you'll need as you explore and engage in combat against various monsters. 

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

Not quite the complete Uncharted Collection we were expecting, but the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection is coming to PS5 and PC in early 2022. It packages up Uncharted 4: The Thief's End and spin-off Uncharted: The Lost Legacy with remastered graphics for Sony's latest console. 

Marvel's Wolverine

The first Insomniac Games reveal of the night (yes there's more) was a brand new Wolverine game. Although it was just a short teaser showcasing Wolverine sat at the bar in the aftermath of quite a brawl. As one final fighter attempts to regain composure for another round, we see Wolverine's claws burst forth. There's no look at Wolverine's face or even a whiff of a release date, but it is a PS5 exclusive. 

Gran Turismo 7

We finally have a vague release date for Gran Turismo 7 and it's March 2022. The lengthy trailer showcased a strong selection of impeccably shiny cars that we swear you could see your face in even through the TV. Tracks included picturesque mountainside affairs, along with cities, and some lovely car pans in garages. We also got a great look at races in action, alongside the customization options and some of the map. According to PlayStation Studios head, Hermen Hulst, the title will pull elements from the entire franchise, so should be quite the celebration for long-serving fans. 

Spider-Man 2

There are many layers to Spider-Man 2's first trailer. It shows the game will see both Peter and Miles teaming up to fight crime. But, more importantly, it finally confirmed Venom will be in the game after his credit tease in the original game. Perhaps more interestingly, he might be playable and join up with the more heroic Spider duo. The Russian voice-over in the trailer talks of finding 'someone how could beat me' and has Kraven the Hunter written all over it. Is he hunting Spider-people for sport, forcing all webheads, good and evil, to team up? We'll find out when the game arrives in 2023. 

God of War Ragnarok

Ragnarok is finally coming, as Sony eventually gives in and admits that's what the God of War sequel is called - God of War: Ragnarok. There's a lot to unpack from the reveal with Atreus getting antsy he's not out there doing god stuff, while Freya's on the warpath attacking Kratos on his dog sled. Oh, there are dog sleds too now. See, I told you there was a lot. We also get to finally meet Tyr (ending the fan theory that he would somehow be Kratos because of time travel stuff). A new character was also introduced, a small girl about the same age as Atreus who Sony revealed is one of the last giants. On top of all that, there are new monsters, and what looks like a new merchant, along the lines of Sindri and Brok, with a pet squid. Because why not?