Every Major Announcement At The State Of Play 2024

On January 29, PlayStation made a new blog post, confirming that this year’s very first State of Play is about to go live soon. We’re talking about taking a better look at 15+ titles here, as confirmed by the blog itself, and now that all the reveals are here as well. I have to admit, the quality on display this time around was certainly a level up from the previous State of Play.

The show ran for over 40 minutes, being the lengthiest State of Play yet, and came forth with a wealth of exciting thrilling trailers for games we’re all quite excited about. But in case you happened to miss the main event, keep this article handy for getting right up to speed on all the major announcements of State of Play 2024. 

The Biggest Reveals Of This Year’s State Of Play

The following is our cherry-picked list of the best State of Play 2024 announcements that you shouldn’t be sleeping on. Make sure to read until the end for the best results. 

New Judas Gameplay Trailer From BioShock Creator

BioShock frontman Ken Levine has been working on what appears to be a spiritual successor to the Bioshock franchise for a while now, with Judas’ first-ever reveal premiering at The Game Awards 2022. During this year’s State of Play, we have seen exclusive gameplay footage of the upcoming first-person shooter by Ghost Story Games—the studio’s debut title following its inception. 

Fresh off the footage, therefore, it’s easily comprehensible how Judas will share many similarities with fan-favorite BioShock games, but on the flip side, the incorporation of magic in unique ways tells me that the game is going to stand out all the same. Taking to PlayStation Blog, Ken Levine expanded on Judas, iterating how the studio is working on a totally distinct PS5 exclusive. 

With Judas (coming to PS5), we wanted to craft an experience where these decisions and how the story unfolds is up to you. Because you, as Judas, are the driver of every event in a story with a new cast of characters to get to know — and change — in ways you haven’t experienced before in our games.”  

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Deep Dive

State of Play 2024 gave us a closer look into Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding sequel, this time called Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Strange, but typical of the man spearheading the project. The 9-minute-long footage highlights breathtaking sceneries and a complex new odyssey that Sam Porter is going to embark on anew, along with a puppet companion that will accompany the protagonist. 

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach will be released in 2025, as per the new trailer. 

Until Dawn Remake Announcement

The recent State of Play event officially confirmed an Until Dawn remake being under the works at the moment, with developer Ballistic Moon developing the project. This time, though, the interactive drama title will be playable from a third-person perspective as well instead of just the cinematic camera type observed in the original game. 

The Creative Director of the game, Neil McEwan, took to PlayStation Blog to highlight some of the new features players can expect from the reimagining of the 2015-released thriller, including additional character movement animations to give you a better feel of the title and a new score by Mark Coven. 

We use a broader cinematic tonal colour palette and new perspectives to make the story more nuanced and emotional. We’ve been brave enough to shine a light into the dark, unseen corners of Blackwood Mountain and added a third-person camera, which means you can now look behind the curtain of the original game, exploring enhanced and new locations with new interactions and collectables.” 

Dragon’s Dogma 2 Action Trailer

I personally really savored this one—Dragon’s Dogma 2, the highly-anticipated RPG and the sequel to the first Dragon’s Dogma, got shown off in more depth, featuring a particular focus on combat gameplay during PlayStation’s State of Play. Action-packed fight sequences with monstrosities of all sorts look flat-out brilliant, and the vocation on display is the Warfarer in the trailer. 

That is according to Capcom’s Promotion Producer Ken Mendoza, who spoke about this trailer at length in a new post on PlayStation Blog. The Warfarer is a vocation (class) type in Dragon’s Dogma 2 that has the ability to harness different weapons, even those that pertain to other vocations, and employ them at will. It’s the reason why this class has earned the title of the “Ultimate Vocation.” 

New Hideo Kojima Espionage Game “Physint”

A working title at the moment, Physint belongs to the action-espionage genre, currently under the works by legendary game maker Hideo Kojima in collaboration with PlayStation Studios. The most exciting part? Kojima said that this game is supposed to be the “culmination” of his work. Considering that this is the same man who gave rise to the iconic Metal Gear franchise, let’s see how that statement ages. 

Dave The Diver Heads To PlayStation In April

Following its initial release in 2023 for PC and Nintendo Switch, Dave the Diver is finally headed to PlayStation consoles as well (yes, both PS4 and PS5) later this year in April. The announcement trailer of the game also contained the news of a brand-new crossover with Godzilla, which is headed to the base game as free DLC in May. 

For those not in the know, Dave the Diver is an adventure-based game with exploration and management sim mechanics. The title is done really well, hence the reason it fished 10 million sales not even two weeks into its release. eXputer reviewed it as well, rating the Mintrocket effort 4.5/5.0 for coming across as “a unique blend of RPG.”

Fresh Helldivers 2 Footage

Arrowhead Game Studios is pushing aggressive marketing for its upcoming third-person shooter, the sequel to the first Helldivers from 2015 which is played from a top-down perspective instead. The latest trailer for the title shown during State of Play expands more on the gameplay and the comical aspect of the game, while also reiterating the February 8 release date for PlayStation 5 and PC.

Rise Of The Roning Gameplay Feature

Similar to the Dragon’s Dogma 2 deep dive, Rise of the Ronin by Team Ninja — the famed creator behind the likes of the Ninja Gaiden series, Nioh, Wo Long, and more — has received more combat gameplay footage as well. I definitely see hints of Nioh in there as the protagonist draws his sword and engages in close-quarters combat with his foes. The traversal 

The game is headed to the PlayStation 5 exclusively on March 22, 2024. 

Stellar Blade Deep Dive

It’s games like these that make us presume that PlayStation 5 is going to have a great year ahead in terms of exclusive titles. Stellar Blade got another gameplay overview during State of Play, showing off more of its plotline, and of course, rip-roaring combat by Korean developer Shift Up. It’s evident that Stellar Blade will exhibit a focus on the story, as the dev studio’s director clarifies in a new PS blog post.

Stellar Blade follows the journey of Eve, a warrior who descends from an off-world Colony to defeat the Naytibas, humanity’s enemy that suddenly emerged on Earth. The Naytibas appear to be attacking the human race at the will of a higher entity composed of Alpha and an Elder, but no one really knows about their origin. The protagonist, Eve, finds herself in a devastated world where she meets Adam, a survivor left on Earth, and Lily, a member of a previous airborne squad,” explains Kim Hyung Tae, Shift Up’s director. 

Metro Awakening Announcement For VR  

State of Play also cast a lens on a specialized VR game coming for PS VR2, the company’s current-gen VR headset that boasts a rich game catalog. Metro Awakening is being helmed by Vertigo Games, with the publishing hand of Deep Silver pitching in as well, which has collaborated with other mainline Metro games as well.

Awakening’s new trailer exemplifies that the game will utilize the immersive features of PS VR2 to the full, so there’s that. It’s slated for a release later in 2024—no exact date given yet. 

Wrapping Up – An Exciting Year Ahead For PlayStation

2023 was a fantastic year for gaming, although not a very good one for the industry itself. Titles such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom blossomed in popularity, while Rockstar Games also put out the very first GTA 6 trailer as well, sending shockwaves across the industry. 

As the State of Play 2024 took place, it’s a surefire thing that this year is going to be packed with top-grade releases all the same, maybe not on the level of 2023, but still no slouch either. And do tune in next Tuesday, February 6 at 3:30 p.m. PT for another State of Play that PlayStation is holding specifically for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. In the meantime, do let us know what you thought of this event in the comments ahead.