MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Sony’s long-overdue European press conference took place last night in Paris, and as usual we were greeted with some quirkly games, and some major triple-A reveals, too.
Here are the top 11 things from the show:
1. Quantic Dream is back with Detroit (and the return of Kara)
One of the biggest reveals from Sony’s Paris Games Week press conference was the return of David Cage and his Quantic Dream studio – the developer behind Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain.
In 2012, Quantic Dream demonstrated a tech demo featuring the character Kara. The Kara demo went down so well that she will be the main star in this story-driven game about robots living amongst real humans and forced to perform unwanted jobs (think the recent Channel 4 TV series, Humans). The title’s full name is Detroit: Become Human, and is currently without a release date. It’s coming to PlayStation 4.
2. Polyphony’s first PS4 game is Gran Turismo Sport
A big announcement, if not a particularly surprising one. The multi-million selling Gran Turismo series is coming to PS4 in GT Sport. The game’s Beta will take place next year, no word on the actual game’s launch, however.
The game will include real FIA championships and will eventually include PlayStation VR support.
3. No Man’s Sky will be with us in June 2016
The much-hyped space exploration game (with a bit of combat) has been a long time coming. Developed by UK outfit Hello Games for PS4, the title attracted huge attention when it was first unveiled in 2014.
It was scheduled for a 2015 arrival, but it’s been quiet for a while and it was expected that the game would not be out until next year. Now, No Man’s Sky has a semi-release date of June 2016. It’s going to be a big year for PlayStation.
4. Tekken 7 is getting some PS4 exclusives, and comes to PlayStation VR
Straight after some Street Fighter V character reveals (and a release date), came a surprise appearance of Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada. Harada announced that Tekken 7 will be coming to PS4 next year (and probably Xbox One, too), and will feature some PlayStation-exclusive content.
Best of all? It will make use of PlayStation VR. We will be interested to see what that will end up looking like.
5. There’s an Until Dawn sequel. And it will be for PlayStation VR
Sony’s recent horror hit, Until Dawn, will return… to the virtual reality space. Until Dawn: Rush of Blood has no release date, although as it’s coming to the currently undated PlayStation VR, that’s no real surprise.
6. Uncharted 4 is out this year… well the multiplayer Beta anyway
Developer Naughty Dog revealed some multiplayer details for its highly anticipated Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
The multiplayer will run at 900p and 60fps, and includes mystical totems, sidekick players and a whole lot of shooting. The game was playable at Paris Games Week, and is available for everyone to play from December 4th in a timed beta.
7. DriveClub Bikes is out… now
The leaked DriveClub Bikes was officially announced at Paris Games Week, but the real surprise was that the game is already out. The title can be downloaded as a standalone game or as DLC for DriveClub.
8. Sony has partnered with 2K on Battleborn
2K Games has teamed up with PlayStation on its upcoming MOBA-esque (but not a MOBA) online multiplayer game, Battleborn.
Created by Gearbox (the team behind Borderlands) PS4 owners will receive the first access to the game’s Open Beta. Battleborn is set for release in February next year.
9. Sony still loves new IP with Boundless, Vector and Matterfall detailed
A host of new IP and indie projects were unveiled during PlayStation’s Paris Games Week press conference. These included Boundless – a sort of Minecrafty, action game with portals. Vector, a rhythm action game from music artist Avici, and finally Housemarque revealed its PS4 game Matterfall – which is a sci-fi shooter with 360 movement. It looked a little like that excellent Vanquish game that nobody bought from 2010.
10. Crytek joins list of 200 PlayStation VR developers with Robinson: The Journey
As you can tell from this list, PlayStation showed a lot of games for its VR headset (the only thing missing was a release date and price). In fact, PlayStation says that there are some 200 developers making PlayStation VR titles. These studios include Crysis creators Crytek. The developer showed its new game, Robinson: The Journey, on stage, which saw the player dodge dinosaurs with the aid of a floating robot.
11. Oh, and Wild, Dreams, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Rigs are looking very good
They may not have been new announcements, but there was a host of other triple-A new IP shown at PlayStation’s press conference – with many receiving their first full gameplay demos.
LittleBigPlanet creators Media Molecule finally showed more of its crazy make-your-own-game Dreams, which ‘seamlessly’ melds the worlds of creation and play as one. It’s a really hard one to describe in a sentence, which will be its biggest challenge, but it looked lovely.
Speaking of lovely, Rayman creator Michel Ancel was back to showcase Wild. The infinite open world lets players explore a constantly expanding world. It features co-op, and the player has the ability to control various animals – from bears and wolves to rabbits and sheep. Yep, sheep.
Elsewhere, Guerrilla Games had two titles on show. The Cambridge studio demoed more of its PlayStation VR eSports game, Rigs, while its Amsterdam outfit showed more of Horizon: Zero Dawn, including its robot dinosaur-slaying credentials. Think of it as a sort-of Western Monster Hunter.
