Sony to nearly double PSVR library by the end of 2018

In a statement to Nikkei, Sony said it expected to bring 130 more titles to its PlayStation VR headset by the end of 2018.

As translated by Siliconera, the Japanese firm said that its library of PSVR games will increase from 150 to 280 by the end of the year, which is made possible by the fact it has now shipped over 2m headsets and benefits from a bigger userbase, which might attract more developers to the platform.

Sony has been heavily promoting PSVR recently, following “slower than expected” sales since launch in November 2016. The headset hit 1m sales worldwide in June last year, with an updated version of the headset then hitting Japanese shelves in October. The company also organised a UK tour to promote PSVR in the lead-up to Christmas and aggressively discounted the hardware during Black Friday.

The reason behind Sony heavily promoted its headset is of course quite clear: despite strong sales on some launch titles, the platform is admittedly still looking for its ‘killer app’. Sony’s ambitions for PSVR were made clear during Paris Games Week, where the firm announced exclusive title Blood and Truth, developed by its London Studio and inspired by the developer’s previous experiment, The London Heist, a "love letter to cockney gangster movies." The game’s director Stuart Whyte said Blood and Truth “shows what’s coming next, these bigger blockbuster titles, that really push the boundaries of what it is to be in VR."

‘Pushing boundaries’ and looking for new ways to play in VR, as opposed to more classic experiences that released last year such as Resident Evil VII or Star Trek: Bridge Crew, are very much on the agenda for Sony then. Head of global sales and marketing Jim Ryan also said on stage during Paris Games Week that “development teams are starting to see the raw power of this game changing technology.” He added: “We’re witnessing the birth of new styles of gaming, storytelling and visceral experiences.”

Blood and Truth is a good example of this new kind of VR experiences and so is the highly anticipated Moss. Releasing at the end of February, it has a very interesting focus on narrative, which we discussed with developer Polyarc back in October. Survival-horror title The Inpatient, announced at E3 and developed by Supermassive, is also to hit PSVR soon, on January 24th. It is exclusive to Sony’s platform (for now at least) and the fact it’s a prequel to 2015’s Until Dawn could attract new players to PSVR.