News Articles
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...
News Astro Bot Director Surprised By Level of Support from Fellow PlayStation Studio Heads
"To our greatest surprise, the studios unanimously agreed"
Almost certainly the cure for whatever ails you, Team Asobi's plucky Astro Bot has captured the hearts and minds of the PlayStation faithful, from new PS5 owners to the most jaded old veterans. This is partly due to the non-stop onslaught of cameos and references to Sony's rich history (in...
Monday9th Sep 2024
News Astro Bot PS5 Credits Indicate DLC Cameo Bots Could Be Inbound
Stellar Blade, Assassin's Creed, Rise of the Ronin
If you've spent all weekend long blissfully jumping about in Astro Bot on PS5, then you'll be glad to know it looks like more cameo bots could be coming to the game sooner or later. Analysed by VGC, several franchises not included in the base game are credited during the closing sequence, which...
Sunday8th Sep 2024
News Sony: It's Massively Important PS Studios Develops Games in Various Genres
The spice of life
There’s been much ado about PlayStation first-party lately, especially when you contrast the critically acclaimed release of Astro Bot against Concord’s premature closure. Speaking as part of an interview published on the PlayStation Podcast and
News Days Gone Director Roasts 'Small Game' Astro Bot PS5 for Deacon St John Cameo
"My character has been reduced to a cartoon shill"
In a rare instance of unity, gamers seem to unanimously agree that Astro Bot is extraordinary – but Days Gone director John Garvin disagrees. The outspoken ex-Bend Studio veteran has taken to X (or Twitter) to share his dissatisfaction with Deacon St John’s cameo in the PS5 exclusive platformer,...
Friday6th Sep 2024
News PlayStation Studios Celebrate Astro Bot's PS5 Arrival with Awesome Artwork
Play together
As is now a long-standing tradition, Sony's PlayStation Studios have gathered around on social media in order to celebrate the launch of a new first-party title. We are, of course, talking about Astro Bot, which has arrived on PS5 after months of anticipation. All of the usual suspects have taken to posting congratulatory messages in...
News Astro Bot PS5's Live Action Trailer Is a Whole Vibe
Play will find a way
Sony has released a glitzy, high budget live action Astro Bot trailer, which will likely run in movie theatres and on television through the remainder of the year. The spot, while only 30 seconds in length, is excellently executed. It shows people in mundane everyday scenarios, like at a school or in an office. When the...
News Astro's Playroom Is Having a Party Inside Your PS5 Right Now
Prince would be proud
You may recall that Astro’s Playroom has been counting down to the release of Astro Bot, which is out now in some countries around the world. But while you presumably busy yourself with the new game, you may be wondering what’s going on in the old one. Fortunately, this video posted to X (or Twitter) showcases the party...
Thursday5th Sep 2024
News Astro Bot PS5 Is the Best Game of the Year So Far
Opens with an insane 94 on Metacritic
In our Astro Bot PS5 review, we said the release is “among the best” in the new-gen system’s library. And other critics agree: Team ASOBI’s platformer – out tomorrow, on 6th September – is officially the highest rated game of the year. With a 94 rating on Metacritic, it’s only beaten by Elden Ring...
Tuesday3rd Sep 2024
PSA Astro Bot PS5 Copies Leak, Gameplay Spoilers Are Everywhere
So bot right now
Update: We're still days away from the release of Astro Bot on PS5, but if you go looking for it, you can quite easily find a wealth of gameplay footage online. As noted in our original coverage (which you can still read below), people have been streaming Astro Bot on sites like Twitch and Kick, having managed to get their hands on...
Sunday1st Sep 2024
News PS5's Astro Bot Marketing Onslaught Starting in Busy Shopping Mall
Brilliant bot
Sony is sometimes accused of poor marketing, but when a game matters to the company, it always goes all out. It’s looking like a bulk of its spend this holiday will be concentrated on Astro Bot, as it readies promotional displays around the world. In Taiwan specifically, you’ll find an enormous replica of the eponymous android...
Saturday31st Aug 2024
News Your Astro's Playroom Progress Will Transfer to Astro Bot on PS5
Make sure you collect your Special Bots
Have you found all four Special Bots in Astro’s Playroom yet? They’re all available now, and if you’re stuck, we reveal all Special Bots locations in our guide. There’s not just Trophies and some fun gameplay up for grabs here either: y
Friday30th Aug 2024
News Let the Astro Bot PS5 Launch Trailer Tide You Over Until Release
Plus a behind-the-scenes gameplay deep dive
To mark next week's launch, Sony has today published the launch trailer for PS5 exclusive Astro Bot alongside a behind-the-scenes look at the platforming gameplay featured in the experience. Here's the launch trailer: And this is the behind-the-scenes deep dive, featuring commentary from studio director...
Thursday29th Aug 2024
News Astro Bot's Free DLC Will Add Speed Run Stages By the End of 2024 on PS5
Hit those leaderboards
Developer Team Asobi has already confirmed its upcoming platformer Astro Bot will receive free post-launch DLC, and now we know a little more about what some of it will entail. Apparently, the game will be updated with speed run stages, much like the ones featured in Astro's Playroom. The news comes via Famitsu magazine...
