2024 was a bit of a bumpy road for PlayStation. Things started out well with the surprise success of Helldivers 2, the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, and the slick action duo of Stellar Blade and Black Myth: Wukong. But things took a downward turn in the summer thanks to Concord’s (failure to) launch. The doomed hero shooter and subsequent closing of developer Firewalk Studios was certainly a low point for Sony, even if a delightful little robot did his best to brighten the mood in the fantastic Astro Bot. Since then we’ve seen the arrival of the PS5 Pro, an even more powerful PlayStation 5 console that comes at an eye-wateringly premium price and has been met with a mixed reception. But with time ticking away, there’s barely time left in 2024 to dwell on PlayStation’s past. It already feels like time to look ahead to 2025.So what does the upcoming year have in store for PlayStation? With almost all of its first-party studios keeping cards close to chests, you may be mistaken for thinking things are looking quiet. But let’s delve in deeper to see exactly what games to expect for the PS5 in 2025, as well as make a few hopeful guesses of our own.The Best PlayStation Game of 2024The Games We Know Are ComingFirstly, let’s look at what is scheduled to come from those all-important PlayStation Studios. Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Yotei is certainly looking like the headline attraction, and it’s coming to the PS5 in 2025. The sequel to 2020’s open-world samurai adventure, Ghost of Tsushima, is set to be a stunner as we’re introduced to both a new hero and Northern Japanese location. Let’s hope for some gameplay trailers early next year or in the summer, ahead of a winter release.There’s also Fairgames, the debut game from Haven Studios. It’s a multiplayer heist shooter, and so it will certainly be fascinating to see what lessons PlayStation has learned from the live-service disaster of Concord. First revealed in 2023, we’re yet to see any gameplay, but hopefully that doesn’t mean it won’t hit its target of a 2025 release date.And… those are the only PlayStation Studios games we currently know are slated for a 2025 release. And with no actual release dates locked in yet, we can barely plot out what to expect in each part of the year. But that isn’t to say there won’t be more big games coming to the PS5 next year, though, and we can certainly theorise at what else we might see from some of Sony’s first-party stable.We now know that Naughty Dog’s next adventure will take us to the stars in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. We don’t expect to be playing this in 2025, though, but we’ll happily eat up any more info Neil Druckmann and the team wants to share about it – especially if that includes some of that laser blade gameplay.Marathon has a lot of weight resting on its shoulders, not only because it will be Bungie’s first full release since it was acquired by Sony, but alongside Fairgames, it will be PlayStation’s first big new live-service shooter to follow in the quickly fading footsteps of Concord. The Destiny developers have as strong a shooter pedigree as anyone in the business, so it will certainly be interesting to see the result of its work as it aims to revive its long-dormant 90s series as a multiplayer extraction shooter.Could 2025 be the year that Death Stranding 2: On the Beach emerges from its oily cocoon? Hideo Kojima was at The Game Awards but didn’t bring a new trailer with him. Unacceptable behaviour, if you ask me. Are we any closer to knowing what it’s all about? Who’s to say, but we certainly want to play it. And the sooner we can, the sooner Kojima can move on to working on Physint, the upcoming stealth-action PlayStation exclusive from the Metal Gear master.As for third-party exclusives, there’s a fair few to look forward to.As for third-party exclusives, there’s a fair few to look forward to – especially if you’re into big swords. Phantom Blade Zero looks set to be a flashy hack-and-slash action RPG from Chinese studio S-Game. A semi-open world samurai bloodfest with soulslike elements, it certainly doesn’t look to be lacking in style. No release date has been given as yet, but let’s hope for next year.Speaking of blades, Where Winds Meet is a PS5 console-exclusive RPG set in ancient China. Taking place during the Ten Kingdoms Era, you step into the shoes of a warrior who wields influence over warring dynasties, shaping history with the point of your sword, as well as mystical and magical abilities. Originally set for a 2024 release before being delayed to add even more content to its packed, mammoth open world, it wouldn’t be a shock to see it finally arrive within the next 12 months.But wait, there are more swords and even bigger blades in Ballad of Antara, a free-to-play co-op action RPG packed with multiple protagonists and intertwining stories coming to the PS5 in 2025. We’ll get a better look at it soon, with a beta promised to be on the way.Think we’re done with swords? Think again. This next game even has one in the title: Sword of the Sea. You don’t use this one to fight with, though; instead, you’ll be plonking your feet on it and riding around at speed, Tony Hawk and Metaphor: ReFantazio style. From Abzû and The Pathless studio Giant Squid, the reveal trailer couldn’t help but remind us of Journey, as a mysterious cloaked character hoverswords around vast desert ruins. Another relatively fresh announcement, having only been revealed at September’s State of Play, The Midnight Walk is the next game from Lost in Random developer Moonhood Studios. An adventure handcrafted from clay, it’s set to be one of the most visually striking games of 2025. Plus, it’s even coming out on PS VR2. At least someone is helping out that long-forgotten little guy.The last PS5 console exclusive we’re going to highlight is a game we wrote about exactly this time last year in our 2024 PlayStation look-ahead. Hopefully 2025 will be the year we finally get to clumsily bumble our way through the world of Baby Steps. A PS5 console-exclusive, the team up from the developers behind Getting Over It and Ape Out looks equal parts agonising as it does hilarious.That may be it for exclusives, but there are plenty more multiplatform games coming out in 2025 that are set to make it a bumper year for PlayStation players. Alongside the arrival of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle onto PS5, there’s Elden Ring Nightreign, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Monster Hunter Wilds, Mafia: The Old Country, Judas, Borderlands 4, Doom: The Dark Ages, and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater to name but a few. Oh, and a little game called Grand Theft Auto 6. Could be good. Who knows.Hopes and DreamsNow for the fun part: the section where we get to cross our fingers and conjure up games that don’t exist yet, but maybe will appear before our eyes in 2025.Insomniac has had a relatively quiet year – for a studio that puts out new releases with such regularity, that is – but understandable considering it continues to recover from the data breach suffered at the end of 2023. We know that Wolverine is in the works but don’t yet know exactly when it will be in our hands. And, if rumours are to be believed, a Venom game is scheduled to arrive before it. While it may be unlikely that we’ll be playing either of these superhero stories within the next 12 months, we might get a clearer picture of what is coming next from the Spidey studio.The same can be said for Santa Monica Studio. What’s next for the God of War developer is a mystery, although we do know Cory Barlog – game director of 2018’s God of War – moved on to helm a new project in 2021 after leaving Eric Williams to fill Ragnarok’s director seat. Could we see what Barlog’s game is in 2025?The 100 Best PlayStation Games of All TimeAs for other studios, can we expect yet more delves into the world of Horizon from Guerrilla Games, with an online multiplayer game reportedly in development at the Amsterdam developers? And it’s been a long time since Bend released Days Gone – almost six whole years, in fact – and the studio has hinted that it’s making another open-world adventure. Little is known apart from that, but it’s safe to say we’d like to learn more. The truth is, we know very little about what is in the pipeline from many of Sony’s first-party studios, so don’t be surprised if the PS5 is in for another relatively quiet year in 2025. We’d be more than happy to be wrong about that, though, and be pleasantly surprised by a flurry of reveals and releases.Finally, could Sony’s interest in acquiring the massive Kadokawa company (which, alongside a huge anime portfolio, also owns FromSoftware) finally result in a Bloodborne remaster or sequel? I know we said these are hopes and dreams… but don’t be silly.Hardware and TechIn terms of hardware, Sony has been very busy over the past couple of years with the PS VR2, PlayStation Portal, and PS5 Pro all released to varying levels of success. As a result, we expect things to be quieter on the hardware front when it comes to 2025. However, it may be the year that we see the PS5 Pro justify itself further as an expensive upgrade if games like Ghost of Yotei and GTA 6 start to push the base PlayStation 5 to its limit. It will certainly be interesting to see how developers embrace this new tech over the next year or so, and if we start to see genuinely impressive comparisons between the original PS5 and Pro.But while we expect actual hardware releases to be quiet, we’ve heard whispers that there may be some news to share of fresh PlayStation tech in 2025. Could we see Sony take another stab at the handheld market? Just stick some internal storage into the Portal. I have no qualifications when it comes to hardware engineering, but how hard can it be, lads? In all seriousness, though, if recent reports are to be believed, then maybe we could actually see a successor to the PSP and PS Vita in the coming year, or at least an announcement of one.Let’s be honest, it’s all guesswork isn’t it? Got your own theories and hopes for what we’ll see from PlayStation in 2025? Let us know in the comments below, as well as what you’re most excited to play.
Source link
