Sony’s latest PlayStation Showcase just wrapped up. The hour-long event revealed news about games for PS5 and PSVR 2, as well as surprise hardware accessories like the Project Q Remote Play handheld that can stream games from your PS5 and a new pair of PlayStation earbuds. Both of those are set to be released later this year, although hardware specs and pricing details have not been revealed.
Gaming highlights included a preview of Spider-Man 2 with Peter Parker in his symbiote suit, plus confirmation of a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake in the works. We also saw a new trailer for Final Fantasy XVI, and Bungie is reviving its pre-Halo Marathon title for a new “sci-fi PvP extraction shooter.”
Among the big names, we did get updates about some new IP as well, with Fairgames from Jade Raymond’s Haven Studios, Neva, and Sword of the Sea.
Here’s all of our coverage from the event.
Highlights
- Beat Saber will be available Wednesday for PlayStation VR2
- Spider-Man 2’s new trailer shows off symbiote powers and Miles Morales
- Sony’s new Q handheld is official: 8-inch screen, streams PS5 games
- Bungie announces Marathon, a new sci-fi PvP extraction shooter
- Assassin’s Creed Mirage due out this fall
- The Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is officially happening
- PINNED
May 24
The 6 biggest announcements from Sony’s PlayStation Showcase 2023
Image: Sony Interactive EntertainmentSony kicked off a summer of gaming events with a bang. The company’s PlayStation Showcase was more than an hour of rapid-fire announcements, surprises, and trailers — including a new piece of hardware. You can catch up on everything that happened right here in our storystream. But if you’re just looking for the biggest news of the day, this is the place.
Read Article >Sony is making a handheld again, with the 8-inch Project Q. It’s designed for playing your PS5 games remotely and looks like a Nintendo Switch smashed with a DualSense controller. There was other hardware, too: wireless PlayStation earbuds are also in the works.
May 25
All our burning Qs about PlayStation’s Project Q
Image: SonyOn Wednesday, Sony announced perhaps its weirdest gadget in a while: Project Q, a handheld device designed solely to play games streamed from your PS5. It’s basically an 8-inch LCD screen with the two halves of a DualSense grafted to the sides, and it will be able to play games from your PS5 at up to 1080p and 60fps over Wi-Fi via Remote Play. It’s supposed to launch later this year.
Read Article >That’s pretty much all Sony said about the device during its PlayStation Showcase. If you’re anything like The Verge’s newsroom, you might still have a lot of questions, so we wrote some out. (Some are less serious than others.) And let us know your questions in the comments!
May 25
Looking good, Marathon.There was a lot announced at yesterday’s big PlayStation Showcase, but I can’t stop thinking about how stylish Bungie’s revival of Marathon looks. The colors! The textures! The tardigrades? Whatever is going on, I want in.
Image: BungieMay 25
How do you remake a game like Snake Eater without a director like Hideo Kojima?
In many ways, remaking Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is an obvious choice. The game is a near-universally beloved PS2 classic, one of the best stealth action games of all time, and is filled with iconic moments and set pieces. And the remake — titled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater — is being announced at a time when audiences and critics alike have ample appetite for revisiting gaming’s past. Several of this year’s biggest and most critically acclaimed releases have been remakes and remasters, including Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, Advance Wars, and Metroid Prime.
Read Article >Remaking MGS3 feels uniquely challenging, however, because of how inseparable the Metal Gear games are from series creator Hideo Kojima, who parted ways with Konami in 2015. The events and chaotic messaging surrounding his departure made it look like a less than amicable separation, and Kojima’s name was conspicuously absent from Konami’s press release announcing its MGS3 remake. It raises the inevitable question: how good can a Metal Gear game, even if it’s a remake, be without the involvement of its singular creator?
May 25
May 25
Alan Wake 2 won’t be available on disc
Image: Remedy EntertainmentAlan Wake 2 just got an official release date — October 17th — but you won’t be able to buy a physical copy of the game, developer Remedy Entertainment revealed in an FAQ on Wednesday. Remedy has three arguments as to why: it says that many players have shifted to only buying games digitally, not releasing the game on disc keeps the price down, and the studio didn’t want to require a separate download even if it released a disc product.
Read Article >Here’s the company’s full explanation, from the FAQ:
May 24
It’s Metal Gear Solid Delta, not Metal Gear Solid Triangle
It’s confusing, so I had to ask. Image: KonamiSony and Konami just revealed a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, but it has a curious logo that reads Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater. While preparing our article about the announcement, I assumed that triangle symbol translated to Metal Gear Solid Delta, but when I read Kotaku’s very good piece about the news, my stomach dropped: Kotaku called the new game Metal Gear Solid Triangle: Snake Eater, and I wondered if we had made an error.
Read Article >To clear this up this very important issue, I had to ask Konami’s public relations team how we should pronounce the game’s name. The answer? Delta.
May 24
Xbox throws (useful) shade.The subtext: twelve of those games you just saw announced at Sony’s PlayStation Showcase are also coming to Xbox.
Which is helpful, considering at least one of Sony’s reveal trailers was crafted to exclude competitors.
May 24
Beat Saber will be available Wednesday for PlayStation VR2
Image: Beat GamesAt its PlayStation Showcase event, Sony revealed that Beat Saber, the hit music VR game, would be launching on Wednesday for the PlayStation VR2. We already knew that Beat Saber was in the works for Sony’s new VR headset, but the sudden launch is a surprise. If you already own Beat Saber for the original PSVR, you’ll get a free upgrade to the PSVR 2 version, according to the description in Sony’s YouTube trailer for the game. Alongside the release, Sony also revealed that you’ll be able to buy a Queen-themed music pack for the game.
Read Article >Beat Saber wasn’t the only piece of VR news from the event. Sony showed off footage of the in-development VR mode for the recently released (and very good) Resident Evil 4 remake. It looks appropriately spooky, with clips of protagonist Leon Kennedy’s initial steps into the world and visit to the village. But we didn’t get a release date of any kind — the trailer ended with only a reminder that the mode is in the works. The full story mode will be available to play in the game, according to a PlayStation blog post.
May 24
Revenant Hill is the latest game from Night in the Woods developer
Revenant Hill is the latest game from the developers behind Night in the Woods. At first glance at the game’s announcement trailer, you’d be forgiven for thinking Revenant Hill was the sequel to Night in the Woods. The cat featured bears a suspicious resemblance to one Mae Borowski, NITW’s protagonist. But according to the PlayStation blog announcing the game, Revenant Hill takes plays in the early 1900s, long before Borowski and her band of friends arrived in Possum Springs.
Read Article >In Revenant Hill, you play as Twigs, a cat that’s fallen on hard times and forced to do odd jobs to pay the rent on the wet log he calls home.
May 24
Firewalk with Sony.Earlier this year Sony acquired Firewalk Studios to build a multiplayer shooter, and today we got a first look at the game: Concord, an FPS that’s launching on the PS5 and PC next year. It’s part of a big push from Sony into live service games.
May 24
Sony’s first PlayStation earbuds promise lossless audio for PS5 and PC gaming
PlayStation is launching its own pair of wireless earbuds. During the PlayStation Showcase on Wednesday, Sony showed off its first pair of Bluetooth-enabled buds that you can use with the PlayStation 5, PC, or with its new Project Q handheld device.
Read Article >Sony says the earbuds will feature “new wireless technology developed by SIE” later this year to make them capable of delivering lossless audio with low latency. The company didn’t reveal too much about the wireless buds but says that additional details will come “in the months ahead.” While Sony already has a number of well-regarded wireless earbuds, like the Sony WF-1000XM4, Bluetooth support alone isn’t good enough to use them directly with your PS5 for gaming.
May 24
Dragon’s Dogma is getting a sequel.One of Capcom’s more obscure hits is getting a sequel, with Dragon’s Dogma 2, an action RPG that doesn’t currently have a release date.
May 24
Cayde-6 is coming back in Destiny 2: The Final Shape.Bungie just dropped a new Marathon game and the revelation that fan favorite Cayde-6 is returning to Destiny 2 next year, voiced by Nathan Fillion. It’s huge news for Hunters in Destiny 2, but is the cheeky exo guardian really returning for good? We’ll find out more during Bungie’s Destiny showcase on August 22nd.
May 24
Spider-Man 2’s new trailer shows off symbiote powers and Miles Morales
Sony shared new details about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at its PlayStation Showcase on Wednesday. The game’s central villain will be Kraven the Hunter — this guy — and the lengthy new gameplay footage showed off Peter Parker utilizing new powers with a symbiote suit. Suffice to say, it seems much darker than the first game. We also got a look at Miles Morales, who will be playable in the new game. The sequel doesn’t have a specific release date, but it’s launching sometime this fall.
Read Article >Here’s a look at Kraven specifically:
May 24
Sony’s new Q handheld is official: 8-inch screen, streams PS5 games
Sony has officially confirmed it’s working on a PlayStation handheld to make it easier to play your PS5 games. It was announced during Wednesday’s PlayStation Showcase and is called Project Q.
Read Article >“We will launch a dedicated device that enables you to stream any game from your PS5 console using Remote Play over Wi-Fi,” PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said during the PlayStation Showcase. “Internally known as ‘Project Q,’ it has an 8-inch HD screen and all of the buttons and features of the DualSense wireless controller.”
May 24
Bungie announces Marathon, a new sci-fi PvP extraction shooter
Bungie is reviving its Marathon IP to create a Player versus Player extraction game. It’s the long-awaited next title from Bungie that we’ve been waiting years for the Destiny and Halo creator to announce, and the Sony-owned studio did it right in the middle of today’s PlayStation Showcase.
Read Article >Bungie has only dropped a teaser and website so far, but Marathon is currently in development for PS5, Xbox Series S / X, and PC with full cross-play and cross-save. Here’s how Bungie describes Marathon:
May 24
Assassin’s Creed Mirage due out this fall
Assassin’s Creed Mirage will hit storefronts on October 12th later this year. Though the date was announced officially during today’s PlayStation Showcase, it was apparently leaked ahead of time. Japanese retailers started listing the game with a launch date of October 12th. According to a tweet from Gematsu, Japanese retailers do not use placeholder dates in game listings, only featuring a date if it’s official.
Read Article >Assassin’s Creed Mirage will feature Basim Ibn Ishaq, a side character from Assassin’s Creed Vahalla, and take place in ninth-century Baghdad. The game was first announced during a Ubisoft Forward presentation last year as a part of a group of several forthcoming Assassin’s Creed games, including one for mobile.
May 24
Did you spot Max Payne in Alan Wake 2?OK not really, but Remedy creative director Sam Lake lent his face to Max Payne in the first two games before going on to create Alan Wake, and it looks like his mug is getting another outing with a slightly less goofy grin. I will never get tired of this.
May 24
Alan wakes in October.The much-anticipated survival horror game Alan Wake II finally has a release date, and it’s just in time for spooky season: the game is launching on October 17th.
Alan Wake 2 launches on PS5 October 17[PlayStation.Blog]
May 24
Final Fantasy XVI summons a new trailerSquare Enix has made it well known that it’s going for Game of Thrones with Final Fantasy XVI, and we can see a bit of that show’s extreme violence and intrigue in the game’s latest trailer, shown during today’s PlayStation showcase. Final Fantasy XVI hits the PlayStation June 22nd.
May 24
Jon Porter and Jay Peters
The Metal Gear Solid 3 remake is officially happening
Image: SonyAfter months of rumors, it’s finally official: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is getting a remake. It’s got a new name: Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. The project was confirmed during Wednesday’s PlayStation Showcase. It’s set to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X / S, and Windows PC via Steam, according to a Konami press release.
Read Article >In addition to this new game, a rerelease of the first three MGS games — Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and Snake Eater — was revealed on Wednesday as part of a collection called Metal Gear Solid Master Collection: Volume 1. It’s scheduled to come out this autumn on PS5. The versions of Sons of Liberty and Snake Eater in this collection will be the ones from the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Konami’s press release said.
May 24
This sure looks like Splatoon.But it’s actually a new 4v4 shooter from Square Enix called Foamstars, which is coming to the PS4 and PS5.
May 24
Journey, but with sword surfing on sand.That looks like the concept of Sword of the Sea, a new game from the developers of Abzû and The Pathless. I loved Journey, so I’m really intrigued by this. It’s coming to PS5.
Image: Giant Squid.May 24
I’m calling it: this is the cutest game of the year.The new trailer for The Plucky Squire cements it as easily the most adorable storybook adventure coming out in 2023. And while it was revealed at the PlayStation Showcase event, it’s also coming to the Xbox, Switch, and PC.