Update: Sony has confirmed that State of Play will return this week via the PlayStation Blog. A 20 minute showcase of upcoming PS5 titles with a "special focus on games coming from our Japan publishers" is set to take place Wednesday, March 9 at 5 p.m. ET.
With the release of Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7 in the rear view mirror, attention now turns to what’s next for the PS5. While Ghostwire Tokyo launches this month and God of War Ragnarok is currently pencilled in for a 2022 release date, the rest of PlayStation’s year currently looks fairly empty.
Fear not, as that schedule may soon be filled out as it’s been claimed that Sony is gearing up for it’s next PS5 showcase event. A report from Game Reactor suggests that the next PlayStation digital showcase, commonly called State of Play, could take place as early as this week.
The same source does suggest that the event may be delayed due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. This wouldn’t be the first time that Sony has delayed a major showcase in the wake of a real world event. 2020’s PS5 reveal live stream was delayed by a week after the death of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests.
What will actually be included in the next PS5 showcase remains a mystery. Game Reactor teases that “it sounds like we’ll get some very exciting announcement from PlayStation and its partner before the end of the March” but doesn’t mention any specific titles. Of course, that doesn't mean we can't make some educated guesses...
What we expect to see at the next PS5 Showcase
It seems likely that Ghostwire Tokyo would feature as this timed-PS5 exclusive from Bethesda owned Tango Gameworks is due out on March 25. There is also a possibility that we’ll get more information on the hotly-anticipated God of War sequel. Plus, the likes of Hogwarts Legacy and Final Fantasy XVI could finally re-emerge as it’s been a very long time since we received an update about either game.
Assuming this showcase could happen, we would expect to hear more about Sony’s Xbox Game Pass rival which is codenamed Project Spartacus. According to a Bloomberg report, Sony’s new subscription offering will combine PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now in an effort to combat Microsoft’s much lauded service.
It’s been heavily rumoured that Spartacus will be split into three separate tiers. The cheapest is likely to offer what’s currently available on PlayStation Plus, but the next level up will offer a library of PS4 (and eventually PS5) games to download. The most premium tier will reportedly include game streaming and, arguably most excitingly, access to classic titles.
Industry insider Jeff Grubb has also claimed that the most expensive tier, which he suggests will cost around $16 a month, will give subscribers access to full game trials of flagship exclusives. This would be appreciated but still quite a step down from Xbox Game Pass which offers all first-party Microsoft games at launch.
Rumors have previously indicated Project Spartacus is set to debut in “Spring 2022” so it would make sense for Sony to show its cards fairly soon. Assuming another State of Play event does happen this month, it’ll likely give gamers even more reason to chase a PS5 restock. Unfortunately, so far this hasn't proved any easier in 2022 than it was in 2021.
