The first year for the PS5 was an active one featuring exclusives, firmware updates and studio acquisitions, as well as ongoing service for PS4 with new cross-gen games.
While it was a very busy year for PlayStation 2022, it’s expected for to get even busier due to delays that have delayed some of the most popular exclusives from Sony along with major releases from third-party companies to the end of this year. There’s also the question of when the next generation of PlayStation’s PSVR will be released and what Sony will handle things in an ever-changing and evolving pandemic environment. With 2021 now past us we can look forward to the future of PlayStation in 2022.
PlayStation is known for its exclusive marquee games that come from both its set of studios within its own, which has recently been expanded in recent times, and launch exclusives from a variety of third-party developers. 2021 isn’t an easy year in either of these areas, however 2022 promises the long-anticipated sequels to the biggest PlayStation franchises.
Exclusive Games in 2022
From the PlayStation Studios teams, we’re anticipating God of War Ragnarok, the follow-up to the 2018’s redefinition of the series that has been running for decades; Horizon Forbidden West, the first real sequel Guerrilla Games’ open-world 2017 success along with Gran Turismo 7, the next game in the racing mainstay series that only played one game during the life of the PS4. All three titles will launch simultaneously on PS4 and PS5 and PS5 respectively, which means players who enjoyed their predecessors continue to play the games on PS4 as well as anyone who’s been able to locate an PS5 in spite of the constant shortage of stock and scalpers will be able to play using the most recent technology. We’ve had a good look at each of the games, but as of right now, Ragnarok hasn’t been given a specific date for release. Forbidden West is scheduled to release on February 18, while Gran Turismo will hit March 4. The early 2022 release will also include the remastering of Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: The Lost Legacy for PS5 as well as still a few projects that we’re aware of are being developed such as Naughty Dog’s forthcoming multiplayer game that is believed to have been developed as a result of work on the game The Second of Us’ planned multiplayer mode Pixelopus collaborates together with Sony Pictures Animation, and other things.
This leaves a lot of the year for PlayStation to delight us with additional games, especially after the acquisition rampage in 2021. PlayStation has added four studios throughout this year, including Bluepoint, Housemarque, Firesprite and Nixxes. While some of these studios have just released their games and aren’t likely to have new games in 2022, we’ll probably learn the latest developments from them at any at the major PlayStation shows in the coming year. 2022 will also feature some exclusive console launches from third party developers, such as Square Enix’s new RPG series Forspoken to be released next spring and Ghostwire Tokyo, Tango Gameworks the first-person action game that’s still coming to PS5 first, despite the fact the developer is being owned and operated by Xbox. 2022 will also see indie exclusives that have been mainstays of PlayStation showcases, like the Annapurna Interactive-published Stray, and Absolver developer Sloclap’s kung-fu fighter Sifu, though it’s unclear if other indie highlights like Little Devil Inside will also hit in 2022.
Big Multiplatform Games
2021 saw a number of multiplatform third parties postpone their largest games into 2022, and while it’s certainly likely we’ll have delays into 2023, there are a lot of plans for next year. Like, enough that you might need to put in more than a few days of work to read everything. Rainbow Six Extraction, Dying Light 2, Elden Ring, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and, oddly, GTA V are all multiplatform games that will be released in the first quarter of 2022 for PS4 and/or PS5. Beyond that, there remain some vague release dates, but the list of possible big hitters continues on and on, as well.
It appears that some publishers are planning 2020 to become a significant year following relatively slow publishing times. Warner Bros. Games, after years of fewer options it has four games that could be launched in 2022 which include LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Hogwarts Legacy, Gotham Knights, and Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League. GTA publisher 2K has plans 60 games between 2022 and 2024 which includes the 23 “immersive core” games (meaning games that are based on sports, as well as big releases such as GTA).
It’s also likely that we’ll experience delays on certain games, and unexpected announcements as well as annual releases and continuing support for ongoing live-service games, which will increase 2022’s already enormous and full release schedule.
Hardware and Services
There are no plans for big hardware changes or releases in 2022 at PlayStation. While it is still confronted with the challenge of simply putting enough PS5s out there to meet demand, the production of more of its latest console will most likely be the primary focus. That doesn’t necessarily intend that new console or accessory colorwares are coming; we’ve already gotten a couple of DualSense and Pulse headset variants, after all, and Sony announced the first-ever new PS5 faceplates at the end of the year. Red, pink, blue, black, and purple options are now available to substitute your white PS5 siding.
The most important issue we’re facing is what PlayStation is planning to use the next VR headset and, for convenience, we’ll refer the headset as PSVR 2. PlayStation has confirmed that its next-generation VR headset had been in development only a few months following the launch of the PlayStation 5, and was already showing off its brand new controllers, although it’s not the actual headset.
However, that could change in the near future. In 2021, reports indicated that PSVR 2 could be positioned for a launch in 2022 during the holiday season in the six years since the first PSVR was launched. Some reports also hint at the game and technical goal PlayStation has allegedly set with its new hardware. On the other hand, UploadVR reported early in 2021 that PSVR 2 will have a the 4K resolution display, which is which is a significant leap over the first headset, and will feature eye tracking and tactile feedback within the headset itself. This will complement the controllers. PlayStation is confirming will make use of the haptic feedback system and adaptive triggers from the DualSense and finger tracking to improve game play.
As for PSVR 2 games, PlayStation has said to developers that the company’s focus is on quality console AAA games that have hybrid game play options, which allows the games to be played within and outside of VR. Backward compatibility isn’t confirmed also, however reports suggest Sony will announce the launch date of the headset in early in 2022. So hopefully it’s not long before we know the details of what’s to come.
A new report suggest that PlayStation is rethinking its offerings in order to compete more effectively in the market with Microsoft’s Game Pass. PlayStation has stated previously that it plans to increase the number of subscribers it offers and a recent report from Bloomberg could provide a glimpse of what’s in store. Sony is believed to be planning three levels of service, the first being the basic PS Plus, the next coming PS Plus with the capabilities of streaming service PlayStation Now, and a third tier with benefits such as extended demos, streaming games, and games that were released to PlayStation consoles. PlayStation games library on consoles. The details aren’t confirmed at the moment however Sony may be planning an important change in its current offerings.
Events
One of the most important questions concerning the PlayStation’s presence in 2022 is how their events will be like. PlayStation has decided to not attend E3 in the year 2019 after the pandemic wiped out all events in 2020 and then decided to not come back to the show as a digital format until 2021. It is possible that events will be different in the coming year, but so far PlayStation hasn’t revealed any plans to to attend major events such as E3 or Gamescom.
However, we’ll likely see PlayStation take a stab at it’s State of Play showcase, an naming convention that could be used in a variety of ways however, it has most often been used to showcase an assortment of third-party titles including exclusives, indies, and exclusives. At times, State of Play has solely focused on big releases, such as Horizon Forbidden West earlier in 2022.
If anything, PlayStation may choose to stay with the pattern it has established over the previous two years. Surprisingly, the company’s biggest shows don’t use the “State of Play” moniker and instead have been known as PlayStation showcases, with the two major ones in 2020 featuring the first PS5 games, major first-party releases, and details about the PS5’s launch date and price. And in 2021, both third and major first-party reveals, such as the KOTOR remake and Insomniac’s Wolverine, were added in the showcase. Instead of going to E3, it would be surprising if PlayStation decided to do another showcase or two on its own. We’re all just hoping Sony agrees to make PSX a thing again, right?
And that is just about everything we’re seeing from PlayStation in 2022. There remain a lot of unanswered questions, including formal word of PlayStation’s VR plans, what’s happening on with its recently ramped up focus on PC ports, and whether or not they’re interested in mobile games. However, in 2022 there are plenty of possible exciting PlayStation news and releases for PS4 and PS5 owners to watch forward to.
