What's Next for PS5, PS4 Sony PlayStation 1
Image: Damien McFerran / Push Square

It’s been a good start to the year for PlayStation, with the release of two critically acclaimed exclusives in Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7, as well as dozens of other noteworthy titles, including Ghostwire Tokyo, MLB The Show 22, and Sifu to name just a few. Of course, as we lurch into the slow summer season, things have really quietened down of late, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to look ahead and see what the rest of the year holds for both PS5 and PS4.

PS Plus Reboot Has the Chance to Impress

What's Next for PS5, PS4 Sony PlayStation 2
Image: Damien McFerran / Push Square

Regardless of your thoughts on the new PS Plus tiers, the service needed a reboot. PS Now has never been quite the disaster it was painted as, but the ship had long sailed for that offering and its branding, so we’d argue this refresh is long overdue. Sony’s marketing has been strange so far to say the least: at the time of writing, it’s failed to elaborate on the lineup and hasn’t even detailed how key features, like game trials and retro releases, will work.

It’s all resulted in a lot of negativity, but we think the reboot still has the potential to impress. Sony’s promising over 700 games for PS Plus Premium, the service’s highest tier, and we’re confident it’s going to pull together a compelling catalogue. The handful of PS1 and PSP titles that have been scraped from the firm’s servers thus far appear highly promising, so we’re looking forward to seeing the complete collection and how it all fits together. Obviously there’ll be a lot of comparisons to other, competing services, but we’re hopeful the Japanese giant is able to compile something appealing here.

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All of this should be officially confirmed within the next few weeks, so this is definitely next on the agenda for PS5 and PS4.

God of War Ragnarok Finally Returns

What's Next for PS5, PS4 Sony PlayStation 3
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You don’t need to be a genius to appreciate that Sony’s marketing schedule has changed. While there are obvious exceptions, the company’s largely been reluctant to reveal releases in the faraway future. Instead, it tends to focus on the here and now, and we imagine now that Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7 are out, it’ll turn its attention to God of War Ragnarok soon. Earlier in the year, director Cory Barlog indicated the team aren’t quite ready to show more yet, but officially the game is still due out in 2022.

Whether the title gets delayed or not, we’re going to see more of Kratos and Atreus at some point, that’s not even in doubt. And so, we’re expecting a huge blowout from this hotly anticipated exclusive. It’s really important to remember that, outside of titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Marvel’s Wolverine, the company barely has anything on its release schedule. We imagine it’s going to put all its marketing might behind Ragnarok when the moment comes, and that should be something to look forward to soon.

PSVR2 Opens Our Eyes

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Sony’s approach to PSVR2 reveals has been a little odd, we’re not going to lie. We’ve now seen the hardware itself, the new PSVR2 Sense Controllers, and even a short clip of Firesprite and Guerrilla’s upcoming Horizon Call of the Mountain. Furthermore, we know that the platform holder was demoing the hardware at GDC earlier in the year.

Therefore, it’s only a matter of time before PSVR2 gets its moment in the spotlight. While we reckon a release this year is beginning to look unlikely, we’re hopeful we’ll have the opportunity to at least test it out at some point before 2022 ends – after all, there were rumours of press events earlier in the year, which sadly never occurred. Even if the headset’s not coming until 2023, we have to imagine the organisation will want to drum up some enthusiasm over the coming months. By all accounts, this thing is incredible!

PlayStation Showcase Reveals the Future

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With E3 dying a slow and painful death, and COVID effectively changing the dynamic of press conferences potentially forever, we’re not expecting Sony to do much this summer. It’s always had a good relationship with The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley, so expect it to serve up a tidbit or two during Summer Game Fest, but we imagine the company’s big PlayStation Showcase will come much later.

Last year it settled on early September for its press event, and while we were somewhat disappointed with the show, there’s so much that Sony could announce during this year’s event. Games we thought would be out by now – like The Last of Us 2’s multiplayer mode – are still very much an open secret, while the platform holder has several new first-party teams under its umbrella, like Firesprite, that we’ve barely heard a peep out of. When the event comes, we reckon it’ll be killer.

You’re just going to have to be a bit patient for a little longer, we think. Sony works on its own schedule at its own pace now, and while that can be frustrating for us as enthusiasts, it does tend to deliver the goods eventually.

What are you expecting from Sony for the rest of the year? What do you think will be the next big announcement from the company and why? How are you going to stay occupied during this slow summer period? Let us know in the comments section below.

What are you most looking forward to from PlayStation right now?