Sony has a pretty stacked lineup for 2021 as far as first party releases for the PS5 are concerned. We are in the midst of a pandemic though, and delays for games are not uncommon at all. Gran Turismo 7, for instance, has been delayed into 2022 due to “COVID-related production challenges”- but what can PlayStation fans expect about the planned releases of other first party games in 2021?
Speaking in an interview with GQ, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said that Sony is “feeling pretty good” about Returnal, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, and Horizon Forbidden West releasing this year.
“We’re feeling pretty good about Returnal, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West,” Ryan said.
He also went on to talk about high-profile examples of major games that have released in unfinished states so they could stick to their announced release dates (which seems like a very clear jab at Cyberpunk 2077), adding that that’s not how Sony likes to operate.
“There are two approaches to this: you can either hold the date and put out the game irrespective of quality or you can ship it when it’s right,” Ryan said. “We have always taken the latter approach. There have been some fairly high-profile instances of publishers trying the former approach.”
“It never works at the best of times,” he added. “But I think in this world, where creative people are working remotely, you’ve just got to respect the fact that that development needs to take what it needs to take and to get the games right.”
Returnal and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart both already have confirmed release dates- April 30 and June 11 respectively. Horizon’s launch date is yet to be confirmed.
It is interesting that Ryan made no mention of God of War: Ragnarok, which also has a confirmed 2021 launch window. It’s looking unlikely that the game will be able to hit that, but at this point, all we can do is wait for official word on the same from Sony.
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