Every Major Announcement And Reveal At The PlayStation Showcase

PlayStation Showcase has come and passed, leaving fans mixed up in their emotions. Some are satiated, while others feel that the amount of wait for this live stream wasn’t justified with the level of content on display. In any case, it’s hard to deny that at least some of the titles that were treated to a reveal paint a hopeful picture for the future of the PlayStation 5, considering the likes of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and the new Metal Gear Solid. 

As Sony has unveiled its strong line-up of upcoming games for the PlayStation 5, a number of seemingly noteworthy games for the PlayStation VR2 have also surfaced, such as the Resident Evil 4 VR Mode, Beat Saber, and Crossfire: Sierra Squad. Moreover, a couple of new accessories have been unearthed in the PlayStation Showcase, titled Project Q and PlayStation’s first official wireless earbuds.

With no further ado, let’s get into all of the major PlayStation Showcase announcements and reveals to get you up to speed with the event in case you missed it.

1. Gameplay Footage Of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Ever since Insomniac Games pushed out the first Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4, the bar for video game titles donning the superhero flavor has been forever raised, until Spider-Man 2 came along and raised the stakes even more. Following the title’s initial announcement at the previous PlayStation Showcase, fans and followers have been treated to a proper gameplay reveal of the upcoming action adventure. 

From the looks of it, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 puts heavy emphasis on the symbiote, with Peter typically assimilating the alien body and falling prey to the consequences of it all. During the process, though, the symbiote grants Pete a hefty ton of different powers, primarily increasing his strength, and gaining him access to more powerful web-slinging capabilities. 

The gameplay reveal apparently highlights the sequence of one of the main story missions and gives us our first look at Kraven the Hunter—supposedly Spider-Man 2’s main antagonist. Basing this on comical issues, Kraven is a ferocious character with remarkable feats in the Marvel universe. The showcase of the game starts off with one of Kraven’s goons, showing him the whereabouts of his next potential adversary—the guy has a bloodlust thing. 

Shortly into the reveal, the spotlight is stolen by Peter’s Black Suit Spider-Man, which is now bursting at the seams with rage, power, and relentless ability. The footage soon transitions over to Miles, who has his own chase to go after. During this phase, the game shows off new gliding abilities for Morales’ Spider-Man, which is evidently going to be a major constituent of the overall traversal in Spider-Man 2. 

2. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

It was incredibly hard to perceive what the initials parts of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater‘s reveal were leading us up to. The video starts off with the showcase of a bunch of high-fidelity ants crawling around, but soon getting discombobulated with the physical uproar of a bird catching its prey. That bird after soaring through the sky lands on a tree branch, the background of which reveals a gigantic snake approaching. 

The snake’s onslaught is interrupted mid-way by a bird-friendly alligator, and right between all this, the camera spans to a fairly concealed part of this mysterious forest, allowing Snake—the Big Boss—to come forward into the light. That is the big reveal of Snake Eater, Konami’s upcoming remake of Metal Gear Solid 3. The anticipation for this one is through the roof, following extended periods of pertinent rumors, leaks, and news.

Alongside Snake Eater, Konami has officially announced Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1, comprising a trio of classic Metal Gear Solid games getting the HD remaster treatment for modern platforms. The inclusion of Vol. 1 could suggest that more remasters may follow sometime in the future since the Metal Gear franchise spans dozens of different titles. This ignites my wish for a Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance remake altogether.

3. Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake is one of the most celebrated survival shooters of the 2010 era, praised for its terrific pacing and flat-out authentic game environment. The much-acclaimed Remedy third-person shooter saw a sequel announcement at The Game Awards 2021 and up until now, we’ve only had subtle news hinting at the imminent release of the title, such as Alan Wake 2 being Remedy’s biggest game yet.

The PlayStation Showcase has given off a deeper look into the eerie world of Alan Wake, signifying progression on the front of the storyline and the involvement of other characters as well. As previously revealed by the protagonist’s VA, the game is now confirmed to be coming out in October, specifically on the 17th of the month. Can’t stop looking forward to it.  

4. Dragon’s Dogma 2

Capcom‘s famous Dragon’s Dogma is slated to receive a sequel, but outside of the reveal trailer outed in the PlayStation Showcase, not much is known about the fantasy-themed RPG. We did know, however, that the game was in development prior to this proper cinematic trailer. During the series’ 10th anniversary, Capcom announced that the sequel to the 2012-released hack-and-slash title is under the works. 

5. Immortals Of Aveum

Hitting the shelves in July this year, Immortals of Aveum is a brand-new IP by EA. The game revolves around Dishonored-like first-person shooting with magic-based powers and abilities. The developer—Ascendant Studios, which was created by former Dead Space and Call of Duty devs—put out an official teaser for the title at the event of The Game Awards 2022, showcasing but a meager part of the upcoming FPS. 

One of the most interesting parts about this one is its Unreal Engine 5 development engine, through and through. Expect a ton of cinematic cutscenes accordingly. Other than that, it’s been confirmed that the title will release for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC. In addition, pre-purchases are already underway for Immortals of Aveum on Steam.    

6. Assassin’s Creed Mirage

After months and months of waiting and meddling about word-of-mouth rumors and whatnot, Ubisoft has finally come out with Assassin’s Creed Mirage at the PlayStation Showcase, allotting the open-world adventure title a concrete release date. October 12 is when Mirage will release for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, while effectively skipping old-gen consoles. 

Hours before the PlayStation Showcase, certain Japanese retailers accurately leaked Mirage’s story setting and the box’s cover art for its physical variant. As per official confirmation, the new Assassin’s Creed title will be set in Baghdad, and hence feature a smaller playground for us virtual assassins. According to fans, the latter is a step in the right direction, considering how some of the previous franchise entries were lambasted because of their size.

In other news, though, of all the platforms that Mirage is slated to launch on, Steam seems to be missing from the bunch. If further turned out to be true, this would be a major bummer for PC players and contradictory to what the French industry giant has currently proposed to Steam in partnership. However, the fact that Mirage was first revealed at a time when Ubisoft signed a deal with Epic Games could imply this timed exclusivity of the title.

Pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Mirage are live now on Amazon. 

7. Final Fantasy XVI

Next up, the PlayStation Showcase paved the way for another major title to come out into the open once more—Final Fantasy XVI. The famous RPG is headed to the PlayStation 5 as a timed exclusive for at least six months, being the sixteenth mainline entry in the gigantic Final Fantasy franchise. The game has had several trailers so far, with its initial announcement dating back to 2020.

The new title makes fans embark on yet another adventure, with Clive Rosfield acting as the lead protagonist. The trailer has shown our hero interacting with a diversity of other characters in the bustling world of Valisthea. Furthermore, a number of classic Final Fantasy monsters are seemingly going to be making a return in the upcoming title. Final Fantasy XVI will launch next month on the 22nd. 

8. Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 had its own moment of spotlight during the PlayStation Showcase as well, and it appears to be a promising third-person shooter with a deep emphasis on monsters vs humans. The trailer for the title begins with an advert for joining the Helldivers and later sees the group of moderately armed soldiers traversing different terrains to cut down bloodthirsty life forms. The Helldivers are shown to be a peacekeeping force. 

As per the trailer, Helldivers 2 will be exclusive to PlayStation 5 and PC. The first game, titled Helldivers, is a top-down shooter released in 2015 for PC and PlayStation systems. Apparently, developer Arrowhead has implemented a massive shift in camera perspective for the sequel, let alone the other significant changes fueling anticipation for the upcoming co-op title.   

9. Phantom Blade Zero

Apart from the usual front-runners, Phantom Blade Zero is flat-out the best surprise from the PlayStation Showcase. I mean, just look at that gameplay trailer! Absolutely ridiculous. The game’s combat appears to mix martial arts with fast-paced swordsmanship in excellent fashion, and we’re not quite sure yet how the gameplay is actually put together. If this reveal legitimately delivers what is shown, we’re in for a treat—that’s for sure.

Phantom Blade Zero comes from an underdog Chinese developer S-Game. According to the creator’s note on the PlayStation Blog, this is the studio’s first foray into AAA game-making. Evidently, the action-packed hack-and-slash Soulslike title adopts a “Kungfupunk” setting, exclusively featuring creatures of all sorts belonging to various genres. Let’s just hope that S-Game pushes out a finished product in the not-so-distant future. 

10. Marathon

Marathon hits right at home for Bungie, being a revival of the 1994-released first-person shooter that had come out for Mac exclusively back in the day. Now, Marathon is Bungie’s new project in more than ten years, having worked on the Destiny IP so exhaustively. The game is strictly PvP, so forget about a single-player story or anything of the like. 

As per the interview of Bungie’s General Manager Scott Taylor and Game Director Christopher Barrett on the PlayStation Blog, here’s what the developers of the project have to say about Marathon’s current progress. 

There’s still a lot of work to do before launch or even before we’re ready to talk about the game in more detail. The team is hard at work, and we’ve got a great base to start from but there is still so much more to do, including continuing to grow our team. That’s one of the most challenging parts of game development: hiring when everything is still under wraps.” 

11. Destiny 2

The PlayStation Showcase has seemingly brought game-changing news for Destiny 2 players. The free-to-play first-person shooter by Bungie will see a new major expansion in The Final Shape, marking the return of a franchise legend Cayde-6. Plot-wise, the latter was emotionally killed off sometime during the third expansion of Destiny 2, titled Forsaken, leaving the rest of the season up to the players for avenging Cayde-6’s death. 

It’s a pleasant surprise for the franchise followers to see a character like him return at the forefront of Destiny again. The Final Shape is slated to the be last expansion for The Light and Darkness Saga until another narrative arc takes over with its own slew of content, characters, weapons, and game mechanics. The footage revealed during the Showcase was merely a teaser, hinting fans to tune in for Bungie’s Destiny Showcase on August 22.

12. Street Fighter 6 Story Mode Reveal 

Street Fighter 6 is measuring up to be quite the fighting game in years, being another masterclass of a hit by Capcom. This next iteration in the franchise comes 7 years after the launch of its predecessor, promising a major bump in various aspects of the title’s gameplay, visuals, and playable in-game modes. Speaking of which, the PlayStation Showcase has cast a lens on the upcoming fighter’s single-player campaign and it looks ambitious.

Evidently, Street Fighter 6 will feature a specialized World Tour mode, a first in the franchise that offers a unique take on the series as a whole. The gist of it is that you create a custom character and enter the diverse universe of Street Fighter inside the so-called Metro City, which is what the devs have titled the in-game world of the World Tour mode. You buff up your character over time with special moves and appearances of your own choice.    

There’s no shortage of praise for Street Fighter 6 already in the bag. First with the closed beta test and then with the recent open beta, both introductory phases of the game have been amazingly successful for Capcom. The game’s future for competitive tournaments looks bright as well, as the developers confirmed earlier in May that Street Fighter 6 was developed with eSports in mind.

In other news, the game modes of Street Fighter 6 will be separately downloadable, so you can rid your storage space of those extra GBs and focus only on what you’d prefer playing—no exceptions. 

13. Fairgame$

Fairly speaking, I kept thinking this was the new Payday for the first few seconds into the reveal trailer. Eventually, it was broken to me that the project at hand is a “fresh, new take on the heist genre” by Haven Studios instead. The new IP apparently adopts the live service model and is part of PlayStation’s push into the bustling GaaS domain. The game will be coming out for PC and PlayStation 5. 

Early impressions for Fairgame$ are not looking too cool. People seem to be of the opinion that CGI reveals do not amount to much and that a gameplay trailer is almost always preferred by the community. That said, the reveal has given away a plausible gameplay mode, which rotates around multiple groups of thieves all working toward the same loot job. Of course, no groups are friends here and it’s every group for itself.  

It’s been said that one of the major reasons Sony has got Haven Studios on its payroll is to make a dent in the live service games market. Both Haven along with Bungie are studios that will get Sony the type of titles it wants. As per a Sony executive who spoke during an investor call in 2022 (via GameRant), this is what was said after Sony acquired Bungie for a noteworthy $3.6 billion back in the day, 

The strategic significance of this acquisition lies not only in obtaining the highly successful Destiny franchise, as well as a major new IP Bungie is currently developing, but also incorporating into the Sony group the expertise and technologies Bungie has developed in the live game services space. We intend to utilize these strengths when developing game IP at PlayStation Studios as we expand into the live game services area.”

14. Resident Evil 4 VR 

Capcom has been on a roll lately with the relatively recently released Resident Evil 4 remake. From secrets and easter eggs to skipping Ashley’s section with a simple yet neat trick, the newest entry in the Resident Evil franchise is no less than a boon for fans and followers. Now, however, the PlayStation Showcase has revealed that it’s time to have another round at the ol’ village in a specialized VR mode. 

What makes us say “Bravo!” here is not the added capacity of the developers to create a separate VR mode for the popular title, but to do that and write $0 on its price tag as well. You got that right. The Resident Evil 4 VR Mode will be a free update for the PlayStation 5 version of the game. That exclusivity deal pays off for Sony fans, doesn’t it? 

15. Project Q And PlayStation’s Wireless Earbuds

Last but not least, PlayStation has had some interesting accessories on display during its 2023 showcase event. One of these includes Project Q—a specialized handheld for the PlayStation 5 that’s geared to facilitate remote play. It’s equipped with an 8-inch 1080p screen with a frame rate that goes up to 60 FPS. In addition, the screen is accompanied by “all of the buttons and features of the DualSense wireless controller, including adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.” 

Sooner than later, you’ll be able to take your PlayStation 5 wherever you go in your pocket, and that’s not the only thing you’ll be taking with you. PlayStation will be releasing its official wireless earbuds as well, having already launched the Pulse 3D Wireless Headset alongside the release of the PlayStation 5 home console. No prices nor release dates have been given for both of these items as of yet by the company. 

More details on PlayStation Project Q:

A dedicated device launching later this year that enables you to play any compatible1 game installed on your PS5 console using Remote Play over Wi-Fi2. With a vibrant 8-inch LCD screen capable of up to 1080p resolution at 60fps, the device…

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) May 24, 2023

The Wrap-Up

The PlayStation Showcase was loaded to the brim with news for upcoming titles and PlayStation-related hardware, and over 30 projects were revealed. Among the aforementioned picks were a myriad of other PlayStation VR2 titles, including Resident Evil 4 VR Mode, and intriguing indie games, such as Neva that deserve their respective mentions. Check out the PlayStation Blog for a full list of all shown entries. 

Following the showcase, the community seems to be in a divide, with one half praising the conglomerate for its efforts and the other criticizing it for not cutting it quite right. Factually speaking, the previous showcase had the likes of Marvel’s Wolverine, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and the juggernaut God of War Ragnarok on debut. Comparing the current reveal to all that, there is no room for competition here.

Any thoughts about the Showcase that you’d like to express? Do let us know down in the comments section.