Concord and Astro Bot look great, but are a symptom of the weird year PlayStation and the PS5 is having
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PlayStation’s hotly anticipated May State of Play dropped with as little warning as we’ve grown accustomed to with showcases of this ilk. Honestly, I’m not sure what I was expecting from it, beyond my own selfish wants to see more titles like Marvel’s Wolverine and whatever any ofSony’s other major studios are working on. While it featured some fantastic-looking games, some release dates, and a handful of fresh reveals, the showcase at large felt symptomatic of the unusual year the PS5 and PlayStation is having.
The showcase comes after PlayStationmade some serious changes to its business, canceling several unannounced projects, making heavy layoffs, and closing the PlayStation London studio altogether. It followed that with making leadership changes, promoting two PlayStation veterans to thenew SIE CEOsto replace the now long-departed Jim Ryan. With all of those changes, Sony vowed it would unveil its new “long-term vision” and the important role SIE will play in it, but so far, it feels like more of the same.
A slower Sony year
The new IP from developer Firewalk Games marks a new FPS era for Sony, which hasn’t really had its own first-party FPS series for some time now. Concord looks like it’s Sony’s answer to Overwatch - a 5v5 multiplayer FPS, complete with a roster of heroes to choose from and a weekly vignette drop to give more backstory to each of them. In fact, it’s so unashamedly Overwatch that you’d imagine Blizzard’s hackles were immediately raised.
The live service strategy was also echoed by the console release announcement for Marvel Rivals in the State of Play. Another PvP hero shooter, this time from NetEase rather than one of Sony’s own studios, it’s another tick in the live service box for this year on PS5.
Of course, that also helps reinforce that while the State of Play was more muted from Sony’s side of the proceedings, it was balanced by good showings from its partners. Monster Hunter Worlds' full reveal was an impressive one, withCapcom’s RE Engine making all the difference under the hood. We finally got the Silent Hill 2 Remake release date too, with the upcoming horror release nipping in just time for Halloween. Even Infinity Nikki got an excited rumble from the GamesRadar+ team thanks to its Pokemon Snap meets Breath of the Wild vibes.
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Sony also leaned into its repeated pledge to make PC releases a part of its strategy, by bringingGod of War: Ragnarokto PC with all the appropriate bells and whistles this September. It remains part of the strategy to have a large gap between the original PS5 launch and the PC port though, with PlayStation’s CEO thinking thatPC gamers will buy a PS5 for exclusive sequelsrather than just waiting for the inevitable PC-specific release. With games likeHelldivers 2proving that simultaneous releases aren’t exactly damaging to the PlayStation brand, I’m still unconvinced that Sony’s nailing the PC strategy when it’s clearly an important part of their forward vision.
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