News Articles
Monday24th Mar 2025
News Astro Bot's Big Success the Result of Keeping Scope Small and Simple, Says Director
"It's okay to make a small game"
Astro Bot charmed the world last year, giving PS5 players a truly fantastic platformer that would go on to win numerous Game of the Year nods. In a talk at this year's Game Developers Conference, director Nicolas Doucet talks about the making of this cutesy platformer, focusing mostly on how limiting the scope...
Thursday13th Mar 2025
News Collect One Last Special Bot in Astro Bot's Final Free DLC Level, Available Now on PS5
Armored Hardcore
The last of the current batch of Astro Bot DLC levels has gone live today as part of the latest game update, providing players with one last challenge stage to conquer. The level, named Armored Hardcore, presents a tough platforming gauntlet to complete, with Astro wielding the metal ball power-up this time. As with each of these...
Monday10th Mar 2025
News PS5 and Astro Bot the Perfect Match in New Console Bundle
Available worldwide later this week
Sony has now made the PS5 Astro Bot console bundle first leaked by Billbil-Kun an official product, with select retailers receiving stock of it this week. This is a bundle that'll be available worldwide, and it comes with a base PS5 and a digital copy of Game of the Year winner Astro Bot. Pricing for the bundle...
Thursday6th Mar 2025
News The Order: 1886 Honoured in Today's New Astro Bot PS5 Level
Sir Galahad is the latest Special Bot
The chances of a sequel ever coming out are next to nothing, but Astro Bot has at least taken the time to remember the PS4 exclusive The Order: 1886 in today's latest speedrun level. As long as you beat the clock in Hard to Bear, available today as part of a new PS5 update, you'll find Sir Galahad, lead...
Thursday13th Feb 2025
News 5 More Astro Bot PS5 Levels Coming for Free, First Is Out Today
PS5 Pro update also included
Team Asobi has today announced another batch of new levels for its PS5 platformer Astro Bot. All completely free, an additional five levels will be rolled out over the coming weeks, with the first going live today. PS5 Pro owners can also look forward to a patch that'll allow the game to take advantage of Sony's upgraded...
Wednesday22nd Jan 2025
News Astro Bot 'Almost' a Nintendo Beater, Says Reggie Fils-Aimé
The little bot that could
Astro Bot may have earned itself more than 100 Game of the Year awards, making it the most celebrated platformer of all time, but it's still not quite on the same level as Nintendo, according to Reggie Fils-Aimé. Formerly of Nintendo as the firm's president in America, he joked that Astro Bot "almost outdid Nintendo at its...
Saturday18th Jan 2025
News More Astro Bot Content on the Way as New Speedrun Level, Bot Revealed
That's Heihachi!
It appears Team Asobi has more content planned for Astro Bot, but the evidence is sourced from a rather unlikely place: a jigsaw puzzle. Following his departure from PlayStation, Shuhei Yoshida has been sent a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle of the PS5 ship featured in the game and lots of Special Bots surrounding it. Eagle-eyed users...
Monday13th Jan 2025
News Astro Bot Could Become Even More Decorated at the DICE Awards 2025
Up for six awards, including GOTY
Astro Bot, the most celebrated platforming game in history without Super Mario in the title, has the chance to earn itself even more Game of the Year awards, with six nominations now accrued at next month's DICE Awards. The game has six nominations for the show taking place on 13th February 2025, and it's joined by...
Monday6th Jan 2025
News PS5's Astro Bot Now the Most Decorated Platformer Ever with Over 100 GOTY Awards
No wonder he's always dancing
Astro Bot, the PS5 exclusive 3D platformer, is now the most-awarded game in its genre on record, accumulating 104 Game of the Year nods so far. That's according to this site, which tracks all Game of the Year awards attributed by eligible media outlets. The count isn't complete, but even if the figure stays at 104, it...
Friday13th Dec 2024
News Astro Bot's Free Festive DLC Level, Winter Wonder, Is Now Available on PS5
Jolly holiday
You thought Astro Bot's run of free DLC updates was finished? Developer Team Asobi has just announced one last treat for fans of PS5's plucky platformer, and it launches free for all players tomorrow, 12th December. This special new DLC is a festive-themed level named Winter Wonder. Accessible once you complete the main game, Winter...
News Astro Bot Dev Pays Tribute to Nintendo As PS5 Exclusive Wins Game of the Year
A big night for PlayStation
Sony said 2024 would be a dry year for PS5, but Astro Bot’s just walked away with Game of the Year at The Game Awards – and three others. Helldivers 2 also took home two gongs, rounding out a big night for PlayStation. During his acceptance speech for Game of the Year, director Nicolas Doucet – a PlayStation...
Thursday5th Dec 2024
News Sony's Really Pushing PlayStation Tournaments, First-Ever Live Event Announced
And you can qualify now
PlayStation Tournaments: XP has just been announced. It'll be the first-ever PlayStation Tournaments live event, and it's taking place in London on the 18th January. Naturally, you'll have to win some online competitions to actually get there. Qualifiers begin today on PS5, with Tekken 8 and FC 25 tournaments. Then, starting...
Friday29th Nov 2024
News Astro Bot Blasts Past Elden Ring, Currently 2024's Highest-Rated Release
Home stretch
Anyone who tells you that 2024 was a weak year for gaming is either extremely specific in the types of games they play or hilariously uninformed. As it is almost Game of the Year time once again, it seems the competition will be extremely close at awards shows like The Game Awards. But in terms of aggregate critical consensus, Astro Bot...
Thursday14th Nov 2024
News Astro Bot PS5 Update Available Now, Adds Final Speedrun DLC Level
Rising Heat
The fifth and final DLC level for Astro Bot is now available to play. Coming as part of the latest game update, the free new stage, Rising Heat, rounds out Team Asobi's collection of time trial stages. The level has you racing through a lava-filled environment as you clamber up a cliff using Astro's monkey power-up to climb handholds...
Friday8th Nov 2024
News Rep PS5's Astro Bot in Style with Official, Adorable Clothing from Insert Coin
Don an icon
Sony and Team Asobi have been doing a pretty great job of keeping Astro Bot in the news cycle since its launch in September. That's largely thanks to a series of free speedrun levels, which are being added to the 3D platformer each week. However, Insert Coin Clothing — which makes officially licenced clothes and accessories related to...
News Astro Bot Sells 1.5 Million PS5 Copies Inside Nine Weeks
37% considered "new users"
The latest quarterly earnings report for Sony reveals Astro Bot has sold 1.5 million copies during its first nine weeks on the market, as of 3rd November 2024. This means it's already selling better than the likes of Demon's Souls, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and Returnal across roughly the same timespan after launch...
Thursday7th Nov 2024
News Helium Heights Hands Astro Bot PS5 Its Fourth Speedrun Level
Playable now via PS5 update
The fourth of five free Astro Bot speedrun levels is available now on PS5, titled Helium Heights. Download the new PS5 update and you'll be able to start recording times to the online leaderboard for this new stage, which is based around the balloon device Astro uses to temporarily float up in the air. You can catch a...
Thursday31st Oct 2024
News Third Astro Bot PS5 Speedrun Level Spring-Loaded Run Out Now
Launch yourself through the stage
Right on schedule, Team Asobi has dropped the third speedrun level for Astro Bot on PS5, this one called Spring-Loaded Run. You'll need to download the latest patch to play it, and then you can get to rescuing the Special Bots and recording a fast time for the online leaderboard. As the post from PlayStation on...
Thursday24th Oct 2024
News Astro Bot PS5 Update Adds Second Free Speedrun Stage, Available Now
Let It Slide
Team Asobi has just released a new game update for Astro Bot, adding the second of five free speedrun stages to the game. The update is approximately 386 MB, so it won't take you long to download. This level, named Let It Slide, has you traversing an icy set of platforms using the elephant power-up to produce your own. In addition to...
Thursday17th Oct 2024
News Astro Bot's First Speedrun Level Is Out Now in Free PS5 Game Update, More to Come Later
Building Speed is here
Update (17/10/24): Building Speed, the first speedrun DLC level for Astro Bot, is now available on PS5. You'll need to update your game to the latest version, installing a patch that's just shy of 2GB. A further four speedrun levels will be released on a weekly basis, as outlined below. Original Story: Team Asobi has...
Saturday12th Oct 2024
News Acclaimed PS5 Platformer Astro Bot Really Couldn't Be Selling Any Better
Beating basically every non-Mario platformer from past decade
Here’s the thing: Astro Bot is never going to outsell a series like Super Mario – it just doesn’t have the legacy to do so. It’s also never going to outsell stalwart series like Call of Duty or EA Sports FC – they’re just more commercially popular. But it sounds like, in...
Friday4th Oct 2024
News Astro Bot's Excellent Soundtrack Is Now Available on Music Streaming Services
S-bot-ify
We love basically everything about Astro Bot, but one aspect has stayed with us weeks after wrapping it up — the soundtrack. Now, it's available for all to enjoy outside the game itself. The PS5 platformer's jolly OST can now be listened to on all your usual music streaming services, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and the like: The...
Monday30th Sep 2024
News 'Difficult to Comment' on Astro Bot's Square Enix Snub, Says Team Asobi
No answers, just more questions
With the release of Team Asobi's delightful platformer Astro Bot now behind us, the complete absence of Square Enix references in the Rescue Mission successor remains a mystery. Studio head Nicolas Doucet said that he finds it "difficult to comment" on why the publisher, whose fortunes have always been closely tied to...
Tuesday24th Sep 2024
News Astro Bot's Free DLC Adds Speedrun Levels, New VIP Bots in Fall 2024
Stellar
We've had our first look at the free DLC update coming to PS5's superb platformer, Astro Bot. We knew this was coming, but a new trailer provides us a brief look at what to really expect. As previously announced, the update will add a series of speedrun challenge levels with online leaderboards. The DLC will include five stages, testing...
Tuesday17th Sep 2024
News Astro Bot Update 1.004 Is Available Now on PS5, and Nobody Knows What It Does
Well, except Team Asobi
PS5's jolly 3D platformer Astro Bot has today received another small update. Bringing the game to version 1.004, the patch is only 382.5 MB in size, and it's available to download and install now. It's the second patch within a few days or so, with patch 1.003 arriving last week. Much like the last update, this latest one...
Monday16th Sep 2024
News PS5's Astro Bot the USA's Second Best-Selling Game in Its First Week
"Solid week one," says analyst
While the Circana (NPD) report for September's US video game sales has yet to be released, the firm's own Mat Piscatella has weighed in on Astro Bot's sales performance thus far. Unfortunately, we haven't seen official figures from Sony (and probably won't unless they're truly noteworthy), and have so far had to rely...
Thursday12th Sep 2024
News Astro Bot PS5 Sales Trending Ahead of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart in the UK
It's all okay
Hold your horses, then! Initial information coming out of the UK was that Astro Bot may be underperforming, as its boxed sales were below those of 2021’s equally excellent Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. However, as we stressed at the time, digital splits have continued to increase in Britain over the past three years, and this...
News Astro Bot Update 1.003 Is Available to Download on PS5 Now
But who knows what it does
The excellent Astro Bot has today received a game update, though exactly what it does is a mystery. The patch comes in at about 384MB, and it's available to download and install now. Unfortunately, we've been unable to source any patch notes for this update to the 3D platformer. We'll of course update this story if and...
News Japan Sales Charts: Astro Bot Barely Registers at Retail, PS5 Numbers Plummet After Price Hike
Astro Bottom
The latest Japanese hardware and software charts are in, and they don't make for particularly positive reading if you're sitting on the Sony side of the fence. To start with, Astro Bot has entered in second place, but with just under 12,700 copies sold at retail, that's hardly worth bragging about. It's an incredibly low debut for a...
Tuesday10th Sep 2024
News Astro Bot PS5 Sales 'Aren't Huge' in UK, But There's Still Hope
Ifs and bots
Having released on Friday of last week, we're able to get an early glimpse into the sales potential of Astro Bot thanks to Games Industry's ever-informative Chris Dring. Apparently, the PS5 exclusive's opening numbers "aren't huge", and are roughly a third below what fellow platformer Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart managed when it...
