PlayStation Studios has 25 upcoming PS5 titles, half are new IPs

In context: One of my biggest complaints about the PlayStation 5, aside from its difficulty to obtain, is its total lack of must-have games. Not including bumps for older PS4 games like Borderlands 3 and No Man’s Sky, the release lineup was lackluster. Fortunately, both situations are in the process of being corrected as we head into the second half of the year.

Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan recently claimed that Sony is ramping up PS5 production that should “ameliorate” the supply shortfall by the second half of 2021. This is despite earlier warnings that the supply/demand imbalance would last into and through 2022. If Ryan is right and not just blowing smoke, gamers might be able to get their hands on a PS5 by Christmas without taking out a second mortgage.

As for PlayStation 5 games, PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst told Wired that they have more than 25 titles they are currently working on, and about half are new IPs. This does not mean they are all going to be PS5 exclusives, but that’s okay. We are past the point right now of needing console-selling games. What the PS5 needs is content, and that should be on the way.

Rogue-like Returnal just launched two weeks ago. Insomniac’s Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart lands next month. Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a Zelda-like adventure from indy studio Ember Lab releases August 24. Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West still do not have solid release dates but are supposed to arrive in the first and second half of the year, respectively. And those are just the games we have known about since launch.

“There’s an incredible amount of variety originating from different regions,” Hulst said. “Big, small, different genres.”

Hulst did not mention any of the upcoming titles by name. However, he did drop a couple of hints about some of the studios behind them. Industry veteran Jade Raymond’s new development house Haven Studios is working on its next game. Indy developer Firewalk Studios are also onboard. It will be the developer’s first title and is said to be a multiplayer.

In the meantime, PS4 titles play excellently on the new hardware, so there is time to work on that backlog of games I haven’t touched. And of course, there are old favorites to fall back on as well.