It’s always exciting to speculate upcoming releases and announcements when it comes to the PlayStation. There are so many games set to release in 2018 and beyond, and Sony is more than aware that their fans are anticipating an update on many upcoming titles. The year is coming to a close and there are two big events that need to be marked on your calendar: Paris Games Week and Sony’s PlayStation Experience, both of which are set to announce big things for the console. For now, let’s focus on Paris Games Week since it is scheduled to take place this month.
Sony did not hold a press conference at last year’s PGW, but they’ve promised some exciting news for this year’s media showcase. At the 2015 show there were some surprisingly major announcements, so you don’t want to overlook this year’s showcase.
Detroit: Become Human
This one is a no-brainer. Quantic Dream has been strongly identified with the PlayStation brand since 2010’s Heavy Rain, and being a French developer only increases the likelihood we hear from them at PGW over PSX. Detroit: Become Human was first announced at the 2015 PlayStation PGW conference, and since then we’ve seen major gameplay and character reveals at other conferences. Based on the highly praised ‘Kara’ tech demo from 2012, Detroit puts players in the shoes of three different androids facing questions about their humanity.
We know that Detroit is a futuristic thriller that will have similar decision-making and gameplay as Quantic Dream’s previous titles, but what we don’t know is the game’s release date. Detroit: Become Human was given the same, open-ended ‘2018’ release slot that so many other hotly anticipated PS4 exclusives got (God of War, Spider-Man, among others). At this point we know enough about Detroit’s story and gameplay to be intrigued, now we’d just like Quantic to confirm a release date.
Horizon Zero Dawn: The Frozen Wilds
This is another safe bet. Sony likely wants to show off the upcoming DLC for Horizon Zero Dawn, their latest flagship franchise. There’s also the fact that Guerrilla Games is based in Amsterdam, making it reasonable to expect an appearance from them. The Frozen Wilds presents Aloy with another adventure in the frozen wilderness, with more machines to fight and locations to explore. There probably won’t be any major reveals for the DLC since it comes out so soon, but Sony likely wants to support the expansion by featuring it. The Frozen Wilds releases this November 7.
Dreams
Media Molecule is responsible for the Little Big Planet and Tearaway series, and their newest project Dreams appears to be their most ambitious yet. Dreams allows players to solve puzzles in seemingly connected scenes or “dreams”. Above all else it allows you to create and shape the game you want to play. Dreams was featured at E3 in 2015 and at PGW the same year, but since then we haven’t seen or heard too much from the British developers.
Media Molecule has emphasized the creation aspect of Dreams, but we haven’t seen too much of how the game actually plays. What we have seen has been quite beautiful, and footage makes it seem like there will be a diversity of landscapes to utilize for creation. We’d love to know the progress on Dreams, and more about what the gameplay will entail.
WiLD
WiLD had a strong presence at the 2015 conference, but sadly there’s been no news about it since. WiLD is from the French developer Wild Sheep Studio and is being published by Sony as a PS4 exclusive, so it would be reasonable to expect an appearance of WiLD at the PGW conference.
From the gameplay reveal two years ago, we know that WiLD is an open-world adventure where you play as a shaman with unique abilities, namely the ability to take control of animals like eagles and bears. WiLD has an incredibly unique concept and setting for an open-world game, and any confirmation that the project is still in the works would be greatly appreciated.
God of War
God of War news has not really seemed to slow down in terms of headlines being made over the past six months. Fans have received plenty of information relating to the upcoming title that will have them prepared to take Kratos on this next big adventure. We thought we knew it all once there was confirmation of the young lad in the initial trailers to be Kratos’ son as well as the Norse setting. There is even an Playstation podcast dedicated to the Norse mythological theme in this game. Check out the second episode of “The Lost Pages of Norse Myth” to get an idea of what you can expect in the game.
With this game scheduled to release in early 2018 and plenty of exciting news already surrounding the title, its appearance at Paris Games Week would be welcomed and fans like me will definitely have their fingers crossed for the possible announcement of the game’s official release date.
Square Enix
Square Enix, the masterminds behind some of the most beloved franchises including Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, is listed as an official exhibitor on the PGW site. With talks of the Final Fantasy 7 remake coming to this generation of consoles, that very well may be their biggest highlight of the show. However, as we mention Final Fantasy we can’t forget about the huge event set to take place later this year to celebrate the 30 years that this fantastic franchise has existed. I imagine that the this will be acknowledged as a possible opener to the Square Enix showcase.
When it comes to Kingdoms Hearts 3, fans have gotten a new preview to the game earlier this summer at D23 showcasing Toy Story characters that will appear in the game! I would certainly anticipate more news or perhaps another sneak peek during Paris Games Week.
PlayStation VR
The PlayStation VR is still a fairly new addition to the PlayStation family but its progress over the past year since its initial release has been great! With a second revised model on shelves at a lower price along with more than 100 games and experiences to play, PlayStation has made it clear that they have plans for even more growth with the PSVR. Though many may have thought that VR would be a fad, it is truly the newest way to play games on the console.
At 2015’s Paris Games Week show Until Dawn: Rush of Blood was announced. This was one of the very first VR games made available to consumers at launch. Seeing that we are well into the development of new VR titles and experiences, I believe that PGW this year will have much more in store for current owners of the headset and new adopters. I anticipate possible announcements from Fast Travel Games, a VR development studio that has had a project in the works for quite some time, as well as other studios ready to release and announce their work.
Unannounced Titles!
I think many people were a little let down with Sony’s E3 press conference this year. Sure, Spider-Man, Days Gone, and God of War all look fantastic, but we’ve known about them for a while. What the conference lacked was a variety of exciting and previously unannounced games, specifically non-PSVR titles. It isn’t too far-fetched to expect some new games – many of the games we’ve discussed above were announced at the PGW press conference in 2015. Sony has been hyping players for this year’s PGW, and while it may be typical marketing jargon, it could very well be something more.
We’re hoping for some exciting news from PGW, but it’s also important to remember that PlayStation Experience takes place in December. For example, we didn’t mention The Last of Us Part II, because it seems much more appropriate for PSX. However, keep an eye out for next week’s conference because there is a broad array of interesting European developers currently working on PlayStation games!
You can stream the media showcase this Monday, October 30th at 8am PT from live.PlayStation.com, Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook.
