Last Week In PlayStation #11 | Sucker Punch Not Working On inFAMOUS Or Sly Cooper, Real PS VR2 Image Leaks, And God Of War Ragnarok Updates

Hello and welcome to the eleventh edition of Last Week In PlayStation, the weekly PlayStation newsletter here on platyview.com. 

Publishing every Monday evening India time (early evening Central European time and late morning Pacific time), the series will round up all of last week's PlayStation news and other happenings into one single article. 

This edition will cover all PlayStation news from the 27th of June '2022 to the 3rd of July '2022.

I was hoping that I would be able to start this week's article with God of War Ragnarok's official release date, but alas the rumoured reveal never happened. There are still a few updates about the game to share, but just like last week's article, there isn't much concrete PlayStation news to discuss. 

Still, we continue with what we have. Here is what went down in the world of PlayStation last week.

Sucker Punch Confirms It's Not Working On inFAMOUS or Sly Cooper, Nothing Being Developed Externally Either

Source: PlayStation

Fans have long been yearning for a return to inFAMOUS, and rumours have also circulated about a possible comeback for Sly Cooper. Well, in a blog post last week about 'legacy franchises', Sucker Punch Productions - creators of both these IPs - put all speculation to bed. 

"As our games continue to grow in scale and complexity, they require the full attention of our studio. With our focus on our current project, we have no plans to revisit inFAMOUS or Sly Cooper right now, and no other studio is currently working on projects related to those franchises either. These characters are very special and near and dear to our hearts, so while we’d never say never to re-opening those doors down the road, for now there are no inFAMOUS or Sly Cooper games in development."

Essentially, Sucker Punch isn't currently developing inFAMOUS or Sly Cooper games of any kind. Instead, they seem to be working on a single project, one that is hinted at being larger in 'scale and complexity' than any previous title. This game is almost certainly the sequel to 2020's breakout success Ghost of Tsushima. Job listings have hinted at a follow-up to Jin Sakai's debut adventure, and the game's critical and commercial success means it is a no-brainer.

Sucker Punch also confirms that no other studio is working on a game in either of these two franchises. Sly Cooper was always the likelier of the two to be handled by an external developer. The last entry in the series - 2013's Thieves in Time - was developed by Sanzaru Games. Sanzaru, who are now owned by Oculus, were never likely to be the developers of a hypothetical fifth game. But now we know for sure that no external studio has been handed the reigns to the blue raccoon - or the inFAMOUS series for that matter - in a second-party capacity

Just a side note: In the same blog post, Sucker Punch notes that they are committed to maintaining inFAMOUS 2's servers and that they are also 'working to put Cole’s Legacy DLC for inFAMOUS Second Son (which was previously only available as part of the Collector’s Edition) on PlayStation Store in all territories for anyone who missed it'. As of the time of writing, Cole's Legacy DLC has been added to the PlayStation Store. 

The First Real Image Of PlayStation VR2 Has Leaked

Source: PlayStation Blog

You know news has been hard to come by when a single leaked image, of a console we have already seen official renders of, makes it into the flagship stories. PushSquare reports that the 'first photo of PS VR2 in the flesh' has surfaced online. And funniest of all, it comes by way of an actual video game developer: Bit Planet Games. 

Bit Planet Games first posted this image on their Twitter account, before quickly taking it down. PushSquare note that upon first posting this image, Bit Planet Games insisted that no NDAs had been broken. But the fact that the post was deleted means that clearly, Sony didn't like this happening.

Thankfully, the image is still viewable through a mirrored post on Reddit. It shows the headset and its two controllers sitting on a simple office chair. Nothing glamourous, but it still provides a good look at the system, one not painstakingly shot by Sony to give away as little as possible. We have entire blog posts with those kinds of pictures.

The controllers, called PS VR2 Sense controllers, look quite large, especially compared to the headset size. However, to my eyes at least, they look pretty flimsy. Of course, this could just be my eyes playing tricks on my mind, so we should wait and see until people get their hands on the hardware. We also get further confirmation that the PS VR2 headset will be connected to the console by a wire. 

Speaking of size, doesn't the headset look kinda small? Or is the chair just massive? Of course, PlayStation can't make a headset that doesn't fit around one's head, so the gigantic chair likely makes the headset look small. What this does emphasize, however, is the largeness of the controllers, which are - on their own - more than half the size of the headset's main section.

God Of War Ragnarok Updates: Announcement Delayed, Release Date Still The Same, Collectors Edition Details, Cory Barlog Speaks

Source: PlayStation

In the lead-up to June 30th, it became fairly common knowledge that God of War Ragnarok's release date was going to be announced on that day. A report from Jason Schreier hinted at a reveal coming towards the end of June, while The Snitch on Twitter cryptically teased the June 30th date. 

Well, the fateful day came and went without a sliver of news about Kratos and Atreus' latest adventure. What we did get, however, was further reporting from Jason Schreier and Tom Henderson about the game. 

They both note that a release date announcement was planned for last week, alongside pre-orders going live. Schreier notes that the announcement 'was bumped at some point last week'. He goes on to say that he doesn't know exactly why, but speculation is that it has to do with the overturning of Roe vs Wade.

Tom Henderson outlines some details about the game's higher-tier editions: named the Collectors Edition and the Jotnar Edition. In short, 'the Jotnar Edition comes with just the hammer and the game, whilst the Collectors Edition comes with other pieces such as some badges, a map of the world, and more.'

Henderson concludes by saying, that despite this announcement delay, the game 'is still scheduled to release later this year on PS5 and PS4'. Schreier reiterates the same thing, except he seems confident that the game is coming in November. 

In some happier news, Schreier also points this out: "People working on it say it's huge and seem to be pretty excited about it. Reminds me of the buzz I was hearing before the 2018 one."

So there we have it, two reputable journalists have backed up the scheduled announcement last week and the proposed November release date. But is there any word from the horse's mouth?

Cory Barlog, creative director at Sony Santa Monica Studio and game director of 2018's God of War reboot, has weighed in on the discussion with a tweet, one whose exchange has been dubbed his 'Twitter sistine chapel' by Barlog: 

its my twitter sistine chapel😬 https://t.co/Nh0YYrTzDh

— cory barlog (@corybarlog) June 30, 2022

Barlog's humour aside, this is of importance because he seemingly confirms that the game has not been delayed out of 2022. In an earlier tweet, Barlog explains that he would love to share information about the game, but it is not his decision to make. He then urges fans to be patient and promises that 'things will be shared at the earliest possible moment they can be'. 

dear all,

if it were up to me I would share all the information when I know about it. but it is not up to me.

so please, be patient.

I promise things will be shared at the earliest possible moment they can be.

we make games for you. we get to make games because of you. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/aw7dje5XxF

— cory barlog (@corybarlog) June 29, 2022

But, as it turns out, gamers are not the sanest people out there. What followed was an outroar of toxicity towards Ragnarok's developers, including one instance of people sending dick pics to a developer. The end result of all this:

pic.twitter.com/fd5ZYp6lxm

— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök (@SonySantaMonica) July 1, 2022

Let's all just calm the hell down and let them work on the game in peace. News will come when news will come.

Horizon TV Show To Be Called Horizon 2047, Will Be Filmed In Toronto

Source: PlayStation

We finally have a name for what appears to be the upcoming TV show set in the Horizon universe: Horizon 2047. News comes via Jeff Grubb on Twitter, who cites a page from the Directors Guild of Canada. Grubb notes that 'the show will likely be set in Toronto as per conditions of tax incentives'.

The page shows the TV show's name (or, at least, its codename) and a list of crew members. VGC also expands further on this list, highlighting the talent in it: 'first assistant director Jack Boem (The Boys, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City) and art director Michele Brady (The Expanse, Saw 2).'

VGC also share further information about the game, citing Jeff Grubb, who revealed the details in a 'recent Giant Bomb show':

"The show as pitched right now is called Horizon 2074 and it will split its time between the timeline you see in the games and the timeline of when things begin to fall. The idea is that this is not a reboot or a remake or sort of a reimagining of the game’s storyline. It will take place parallel and sort of explain other elements that happened in the game."

This premise certainly intrigues me, but what remains to be seen is the series' timeline for release.

Other Bits And Pieces:

Source: Epic Games Store

• Last week has been so slow in terms of PlayStation news that I have had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to fill out this section. Here is one I find interesting: PS4/5 ports for 2018 indie tactical-roguelike Into the Breach are 'within the realm of possibility'. PushSquare notes that in conversation with the game's programmer Matthew Davis, he revealed that such ports are possible but the studio would 'like to get back to original development in the immediate future'. The reason for the lack of a PlayStation (and Xbox) port is the team's small size; it is made up of only 3 people. I really want to play Into the Breach, and it's looking like PlayStation ports are not within reach for now. I may have to cough up the money and courage to buy it on PC at some point.
  
  
• VGC report that Sony is 'launching a new gaming gear line' that is 'aimed primarily at PC players'. The hardware was revealed at last week's INZONE event, and consists of 2 gaming monitors and 3 headsets. The hardware is also compatible with the PS5. I would assume they work with other consoles too. All the details can be found here on Sony's website.

And that is all for this week's edition of last week in PlayStation. I am still chugging along on reviews for The Last of Us and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. I don't know when I will be able to get those out, but hopefully this month only. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next Monday. Bye!