News event State of Play PS4 PS5: God of War, Hogwarts Legacy, PSVR – What games to expect?
Surprise, it is finally PlayStation which will open the ball of the E3 period this year. The company has just announced a new State of Play that will take place this Thursday evening. So inevitably, with the Summer Game Fest and the Xbox Games Showcase jostling at the gate, we are entitled to expect great announcements from Sony. Here is our little opinion on the subject.
As if the Sony news was not rich enough at the moment, the company has decided to add a layer. This Thursday, June 2 at 11:59 p.m. French time, we will have the right to a new State of Play, two months after a rather disappointing March edition. This time, PlayStation is betting on “30 minutes of announcements and new features” with two specific focuses: “thrilling revelations” from its partners and “previews of several games in development for PSVR 2” can we learn on the brand’s official blog. No mention of PS4 exclusives | PS5. Which doesn’t mean that Sony isn’t hiding some nice surprises. Starting with what’s new in virtual reality. So here’s what we can expect.
PSVR 2: Price, date and line-up?
PlayStation is very clear in its press release: the State of Play on Thursday evening will first be the opportunity to unveil games in preparation for PSVR 2, the brand’s new virtual reality headset. The object, which will only be compatible with the PS5, took advantage of CES 2022 in January to present its technical advantages (OLED screen, 2000×2040 resolution, etc.) and a first exclusive title, Horizon: Call of the Mountain. A serious argument. The Guerrilla series – here assisted in development by Firesprite, which also belongs to PlayStation – is one of the icons of the manufacturer. The opus in VR remains very mysterious for the moment. That’s good, Sony has already confirmed that it will be part of the State of Play for a “new preview”.
Horizon: Call of the Mountain (PSVR 2)
We would also not refuse some information on the helmet itself, whose price and marketing window remain a mystery for the time being. Insiders are talking about a release in 2023 but let’s not go too fast. To return to more “concrete” things, recent rumors are betting on a return of the Killzone license in virtual reality, also supervised by Guerrilla, and which could be revealed during the State of Play. Others evoke a Call of Duty VR experience backed by the new Modern Warfare 2, announced recently. And why not ! After all, the FPS had already tried the exercise with “Jackal Assault” on the episode Infinite Warfare. Let’s not forget London Studio, the PlayStation team that gave us the great virtual reality game Blood and Truth in 2019. We know that it is preparing an online title on PS5, with – no doubt – VR.
A change of strategy!
Scenarios may be going well, but for sure, Sony seems to have prepared the arrival of its PSVR 2 well. will rely on 20 games at launch, both from its own studios and from external partnerships. Beyond the number, these productions will undoubtedly marry the PlayStation strategy for the years to come, as described by Jim Ryan in recent interventions. The brand wants to find its community “beyond consoles” with particular attention to service games (twelve such titles are planned by 2025), cloud gaming and the metaverse. A last point where the virtual reality headset would have its place, providing a completely incomparable immersion.
Beyond Horizon, Call of Duty and Killzone in VR, it cannot therefore be excluded that Sony draws more original projects, centered on the exchange and less on the solo experience, like PlayStation Home , a kind of proto-metaverse at the time available on PS3. In this regard, how not to think of the project currently in development at Haven, a studio led by Jade Raymond (Mass Effect Andromeda, Star Wars 1313) and bought by Sony last March. The future title, exclusive to PS5, looks like the figurehead of the new PlayStation with “an ever-evolving triple-A multiplayer experience with (…) centered on freedom, passion and zest to keep players entertained for years” can we read on the manufacturer’s blog. From there to imagining a game with virtual reality, there is only one step.
God of War, Hogwarts Legacy?
Do not panic: PlayStation knows that it owes its reputation to its solo games and does not intend to change everything overnight. The next few years on PS4 | PS5 will keep their promises in this regard. And on that side, there is one that players are eagerly awaiting: God of War Ragnarök, sequel to the excellent opus released in 2018. Unfortunately, nothing in the State of Play press release suggests such an announcement, although there may always be a surprise. Because things seem to be shaking lately on god of war’s side, with a classification by the equivalent of PEGI in Korea as well as an article on its accessibility options in the columns of PlayStation Blog. In any case, on the manufacturer’s official website, the continuation of the adventures of Kratos and Atreus is still set for 2022. God of War Ragnarök will most certainly be the subject of a State of Play, as is now the tradition for all PlayStation exclusives.
Let’s not forget that, in addition to virtual reality titles, PlayStation speaks above all of its “partners” in its press release dedicated to the State of Play. What to refer to games like Hogwarts Legacy, certainly planned on PC and other consoles (even the Switch) but which continues to make the show at Sony. After the State of Play in March, the RPG Harry Potter has this time unveiled its sensations on PS5 thanks to the Dual Sense controller. So why not imagine a little something extra on Thursday evening? Rumors also speak of a nice release date for Stray – aka “the cute game with the potit chat” – and we would like to have the same info for Little Devil Inside, also planned for this year. Come on, let’s be crazy: any news from Final Fantasy XVI? After all, the State of Play opens the door to all fantasies.
