Sony announced at the beginning of 2024 that they wouldn’t release any big PS5 games throughout the year, including highly anticipated sequels in their popular game franchises, until 2025 rolls around. While the exact reason remains vague, it seems likely that they are holding off on releasing blockbuster games to coincide with the launch of the rumored PS5 Pro later this year.
In lieu of first-party titles, Sony’s strategy for selling games in 2024 has been to push third-party games. This approach has seen success with titles like Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, and most recently, Black Myth: Wukong. Some first-party games released this year include Concord, which has received lukewarm reception, and the upcoming Astro Bot set to launch on September 6, 2024.
Astro Bot is a creation of Team Asobi, a subsidiary of Japan Studio that was shut down in 2021. The game is an evolution of Astro’s Playroom, the free game bundled with PS5 consoles at launch, with enhanced gameplay mechanics and levels.
The genesis of Astro Bot can be traced back to the experimentation done by Team Asobi using PS4 controllers and cameras to create an AR demo called Little AR Man. Originally featuring small robot characters that interact with the player’s environment, these robots were eventually refined into the lovable character of Astro, with a more charming and childlike design.
Astro Bot has evolved further with features such as blue eyes indicating friendliness and red eyes for enemies, a jetpack for flying, and enhanced audio cues for various situations. The game introduces over 70 different animals for Astro to interact with, as well as incorporating characters from other Sony games like Kratos, Aloy, Nathan Drake, and Ratchet as sidekick versions of Astro, catering to fans of those franchises. The inclusion of nostalgic characters like from Ape Escape and Crash Bandicoot adds a touch of nostalgia for long-time players.
Nicolas Doucet confirmed in an interview that Astro Bot won’t have VR support from the new PS VR2, as it wasn’t designed with that in mind from the start. However, there is a possibility of the game being ported to PC, similar to other Sony titles.
TLDR: Sony delays big PS5 game releases until 2025, focusing on third-party games in 2024. Astro Bot from Team Asobi brings a charming robot character with exciting new features and collaborations with iconic Sony game characters. There’s no VR support planned for the game, but a potential PC port in the works.
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