In addition, PlayStation Studios head Hermen Hulst has also confirmed in a message published on the official Sony Interactive Entertainment website that, as part of the company’s restructuring, the complete closure of SIE London Studio is also “proposed”.

SIE London Studio was founded in 2002, following which it went on to work on the Singstar and EyeToy lines of games, before going on to develop 2019’s acclaimed PS VR exclusive first-person shooter Blood and Truth.

In October 2022, the studio announced that it was working on a live service PS5 title set in a contemporary fantasy version of London. The game was set to be the studio’s most ambitious title to date.

Heading up the list of the most downloaded PS5 games is Hogwarts Legacy in US/Canada, while EU saw EA Sports FC 24, followed by Hogwarts Legacy at second place. A significant portion of the list on the US side is filled with sports games, including Madden NFL 24, NBA 2K24 and MLB The Show 23. Other popular games in the lists include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Baldur’s Gate 3.

On the PS4 side of things, the US/Canada list is headed up by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, while EU’s digital downloads were seemingly dominated by EA Sports FC 24. The PS4 list features a bit more diversity, including titles like The Forest, Diablo 4, Red Dead Redemption and its sequel, and even Minecraft.

When it comes to PS VR2 games, Pavlov dominated the download charts in both regions, followed by Beat Saber in US/Canada, and Kayak VR: Mirage in EU. Other titles include The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution, Job Simulator, Pistol Whip, and Moss: Book 2. The original PS VR’s charts were headed up by Beat Saber and Job Simulator, followed by Superhot VR, and other titles including Astro Bot Rescue Mission, and Arizona Sunshine.

Wrapping things up is the free-to-play section for both the PS4 and PS5. Both territories were primarily dominated by three titles: Fortnite, Roblox, and Call of Duty: Warzone. Going further down the list, we get to see games like Overwatch 2, Destiny 2, The Sims 4, Fall Guys, and Apex Legends.

Check out the complete lists below:

PS5 Games

PS4 Games

PS VR2 Games

PS VR Games

Free to Play (PS5 + PS4)

First Contact Entertainment – known for its virtual reality shooters like Firewall: Zero Hour, Firewall Ultra, and Solaris: Offworld Combat – has announced on Facebook that it will be shutting down. The studio attributes its closure to “the lack of support for VR within the industry”, saying it cannot justify the expenses that would be required to keep moving forward.

“After almost 8 years of working with the most amazing team I’ve ever had the pleasure of being part of, I’m sad to announce that we will be closing our company First Contact Entertainment by the end of the year,” the announcement post on the studio’s Facebook page reads. “The lack of support for VR within the industry has eventually taken its toll. As a AAA VR game developer, we are just not able to justify the expense needed going forward. We are a team of fearless innovators willing to push new technologies to its limits. I am extremely proud of the team and grateful to our investors, our partners and of course our community of dedicated and passionate players.”

That, of course, means that Solaris: Offworld Combat 2, which was announced earlier this year, has been cancelled.

That’s as per XboxEra co-founder Nick Baker. In a tweet referring to Sony’s recent trademark filings for Astro Bot, Baker said that based on what he’s heard, a PlayStation VR2 port of Astro Bot Rescue Mission is in the works. In a follow-up tweet, he added that he hasn’t heard anything about a new Astro Bot title for the PS5.

That, of course, doesn’t have to mean that one isn’t in the works. Developer Team Asobi confirmed through job listings in 2021 that it had started development on an unannounced PS5 title, and has gone on to describe the project as its biggest and most ambitious to date. Sony, meanwhile, has said that studio’s next game is in “a franchise for all ages with global appeal.”

Not sure it’s related but I’ve heard they’re doing a PSVR2 port of Astro https://t.co/G8BYf2y3PP

— Balatro Nick  (@Shpeshal_Nick) August 29, 2023

Yeah I think it’s Rescue Mission being ported. I’ve heard nothing on a sequel to the PS5 one. I wish though.

— Balatro Nick  (@Shpeshal_Nick) August 29, 2023

But when you spend 30 years doing anything, you’ll have some bad days and some good days, and Sony has, of course, had its share of relative disappointments and underwhelming outings to go along with its really strong ones. Here we take a look at everything it has done, and rank all of its platforms from worst to best, across consoles, handhelds, and VR.

#9. PLAYSTATION VR2

Sony’s newest hardware release has reportedly not had the kind of launch the company may have been hoping for, so it remains to be seen how it will fare in the months and years ahead. In the here and now, it’s easy to see the promise. The PS VR2 boasts excellent hardware, boasting impressive tech and some much-needed improvements over its predecessor. But though it’s still early days, its library isn’t exactly stacked full of games that justify its shockingly high price. Hopefully, Sony and others in the industry will have some really good games up their sleeves in the not-too-distant future. We wouldn’t mind a Half-Life: Alyx port.

#8. PLAYSTATION VR

Sony deserves a great deal of credit for being willing to experiment with something as niche and new as VR back in the day. Building on the incredible success of the PS4, the company decided to dip its toes in virtual reality with PS VR, and with the likes of Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Resident Evil 7, Blood and Truth, and more, the device did deliver some really good games. Of course, it also had its fair share of issues. The hardware, for instance, was quite finnicky and didn’t exactly have the best user experience. It was a decent start for Sony in the world of VR, and it does boast a solid library, but it didn’t exactly set the world on fire.

#7. PLAYSTATION VITA

Thinking about the PlayStation Vita just makes us sad. There was so much to love about Sony’s doomed handheld. It’s hardware was excellent, it had a gorgeous OLED screen (or at least the original model did), and it seemed like the perfect way to properly realize the promise of console games on the go that Sony originally made with the PSP. It was, however, a victim of a string of bad decisions by Sony, from the ridiculous pricing of its proprietary memory cards to how poorly Sony supported the device. It’s a real shame that the PS Vita bombed as horribly as it did, because if Sony had had its heart set on it, it could have done some excellent things in the handheld space. Speaking of which…

#6. PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

The PlayStation Portable launched at a time when Nintendo had an actual, literal monopoly in the handheld gaming market, before even mobile gaming was really a thing. Much like the original PlayStation, the PSP faced insurmountable odds as it sought to overturn that monopoly, and though it didn’t quite do that the way the PS1 did, it did make a significant chunk. With its slick form factor, more powerful hardware, and games that looked better than anyone had ever imagined they would on a handheld, the PSP raised the bar in ways that it doesn’t get enough credit for. It helped, of course, that it had an excellent library, which also doesn’t get the praise it deserves. God of War: Chains of Olympus, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, Daxter, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – the list goes on and on.

#5. PLAYSTATION 5

It’s very, very likely that about four or five years from now, the PlayStation 5 will be higher on this list. The fact that it’s less than three years old and is already this high is, however, testament to the incredible start it has had. Console shortages in its first couple of years aside, the PS5 has been firing on all cylinders since day one. Incredible specs, one of the best console controllers of all time, excellent user experience and features- it ticks all the boxes. Including, of course, an impressive library. With the likes of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Demon’s Souls, Returnal, God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West, and more, the PS5 has already built up a solid catalogue of excellent exclusives, and there’s obviously plenty more to come. Of course, with it still being in the early years of its life, the PS5 still has some catching up to do with all of its predecessors, but so far, it doesn’t look like it’ll fall short of expectations.

#4. PLAYSTATION 3

By the time all was said and done, the PS3 sold over 87 million units worldwide and accumulated a stellar library of games, so it’s not exactly a failure. But is it a bit of a black sheep in the PlayStation console family? I think even Sony would tell you that. How complicated its hardware was to develop for for a number of developers across the industry, the fierce competition it faced from the Xbox 360, the ridiculous price it launched for- there were plenty of reasons for why the PS3 is the only PlayStation console to sell under a hundred million units. At the same time though, it’s also got an amazing library. Sure, the PS3 era had plenty of issues, but it also delivered games like Metal Gear Solid 4, the Uncharted 2, God of War 3, Killzone 2 and 3, and so, so much more. So at the end of the day, the good definitely outweighed the bad.

#3. PLAYSTATION 

Going up against the established dominance of Nintendo and Sega (but largely the former) as a newcomer wasn’t an easy task in the slightest, but with the PlayStation, Sony certainly made it look easy. It was less powerful than the N64, sure, but it was also cheaper and easier to develop for. That meant developers flocked to it in droves and crammed its library full of smash hits, and that, in turn, drove sales at a scale that the industry had never seen before, culminating with the PS1 becoming the first console ever to sell more than 100 million units. Not only is it one of the greatest consoles of all time, it’s also one of the most influential consoles of all time.

#2. PLAYSTATION 2

Many would argue that the PS2 should be at the top of this list – and possibly every list – and even though we obviously haven’t put it in that position, we very easily could have. More so perhaps than any of its competitors, predecessors, or successors, the PS2 signifies what a gaming console is above all else, and that is thanks first and foremost to its library of games, which might just be one of the greatest gaming lineups of all time. It’s the highest selling console of all time and remains the only console to date to have sold over 150 million units, but as staggering as that achievement it is, it’s hard to say that it isn’t justified by every metric.

#1. PLAYSTATION 4

After a bit of a stumble with the PS3 (albeit a stumble with caveats of success), Sony decided to pivot with the PS4 in more ways than one, from its reasonable launch pricing to its quick and easy user experience to its developer-friendly hardware, and all of those decisions paid dividends for Sony. What really elevated the PS4 as a console, however, was the sudden and aggressive improvements that we saw from PlayStation’s first party offerings. Don’t get us wrong, Sony’s first party has always been one of its strong suits, but in the PS4 era, it hit completely new heights. Bloodborne, which was technically a first party release, kicked it off in 2015, and then it was just a steady stream of stellar, must-play releases. Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, Marvel’s Spider-Man, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last of Us Part 2, Ghost of Tsushima. With first parties and third parties both firing on all cylinders, the PS4 accumulated an incredible library of games over the course of its life, and of course, is still continuing to see consistent releases in the early years of its successor’s life. For our money, it would be silly not to recognize it as one of the greatest gaming consoles of all time.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

In its recent quarterly fiscal report, Sony revealed that over the course of fiscal year 2022/23 (April 2022-March 2023), it saw over $2.49 billion in revenue from peripherals (including PS VR and PS VR2) and sales of PC titles. That’s nearly twice as much as the revenue seen by the company in the previous fiscal year, which stood at $1.37 billion. 

All quarters of the fiscal year saw year-on-year growth in revenue, with Q4 (January-March) in particular nearly tripling, seeing $1.048 billion in revenue. That, of course, aligns with the launch of the PlayStation VR2 in February, though given reports of disappointing sales for the VR headset and Sony allegedly looking to cut back on production, it remains to be seen how much it will contribute going forward. 

It’s also worth mentioning that the last several months have seen a string of PlayStation releases on PC, including the likes of The Last of Us Part 1, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, Returnal, and more. 

Presumably, the company will continue to release an increasing number of PC titles going forward. Last year, Sony said that by FY 2025, roughly 50% of all of its new software releases would be on PC. It has also said that all of its live service titles going forward will see simultaneous PC releases. 

Now, Enhance has released another new trailer that offers another extensive look at the delightfully bizarre title, while also confirming its release date. Humanity will see players playing as an all-powerful Shiba Inu service dog that can command legions of humans to take a variety of actions, like following you, jumping, pushing objects, fight, swim, and more, all of which you’ll be using to solve puzzles and obstacle courses.

Meanwhile, the game will also allow you to create deathtraps and obstacle courses of your own, which you can then share online, with Enhance promising an endless stream of user-generated content for players to dive into. Beyond that, the game will also feature support for PS VR and PS VR2. Check out the trailer below for more details.

Humanity launches on May 16 for PS5, PS4, and PC. The game will also be available day one on the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for PS Plus Extra and PS Plus Premium subscribers.

The original PlayStation VR, which launches in 2016, has sold over 5 million units across its lifetime, and Sony is expecting its successor to exceed those figures. The same was stated by Sony executive deputy president and chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki at the recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.

“We are very happy to launch VR2 on PS5,” he said (via VGC). “VR1, we sold over five million units, and I think we have a good chance to exceed that amount with PlayStation VR2.”

Interestingly, in January, reports emerged claiming that due to pre-orders for the PlayStation VR2 being lower than expected, Sony had slashed its shipment estimates for the device, and was now expecting to ship 1.5 million units by the end of the current fiscal year (i.e., by March 31, 2024). In response, the company issued a statement saying that it had no plans to reduce production.

The PlayStation VR2 retails at a price of $549.99, which has been viewed too high by many, while the lineup of games it launched with has also been criticized for not justifying the hardware’s price point.

Huge price hike

Straight off the bat, an important difference between PS VR2 and Sony’s original PlayStation virtual reality headset is the substantial price increase. PS VR2 features a bevy of upgraded specs – which we’ll get into in this feature – so it’s down to the individual if they think PS VR2 is worthy of the price hike. For those who don’t know, PS VR2 will retail at $549.99 / £529.99 / €599.99. When compared to PS VR’s starting price of £349, PS VR2 comes in at a whopping 34% higher price over its predecessor.

Substantial resolution upgrade

Sony has confirmed that the PS VR2 will come equipped with OLED HDR in-headset displays at a resolution of 2000 x 2040 per eye. In comparison, PS VR shipped with RGB OLED displays with a resolution of 960 x 1080 per eye. Now, one of the common complaints levied on the original virtual reality headset was a tendency for its graphics to get a little fuzzy around the edges; in fact, poor screen quality was very noticeable at times, so it’s clear with this PS VR2’s four times as crisp resolution Sony are looking to address these complaints.

Single wire connection

The first PS VR headset required multiple wires to connect to the PS4. Of course, multiple wires dangling across living rooms presents many an opportunity for trip-ups. Plus, requiring more than one wire was just plain cumbersome. Sony has addressed this issue with the PS VR2 which will now only require a single wire to setup. The wire itself plugs into the headset at one end, and slots into one of the PS5’s USB ports at the other. It’s a shame Sony haven’t replicated the Oculus Quest 2’s wireless capability, but one wire is still an improvement on PS VR2’s predecessor.

No breakout box

In addition to multiple cables to and from the headset, the original PS VR also shipped with a breakout box that was required as a central hub to connect the headset to the external camera and TV. So, in addition to the breakout box requiring two connections from the headset, it needed to be plugged into the PS4’s USB and HDMI ports, plus a connection to the TV, and be plugged into an external power source. Sony have done away with this requirement meaning PS VR2 will be a much more streamlined system to setup.

External camera no longer required

PS VR required an extra peripheral, an external camera, placed somewhere in the vicinity to track player movement. Now, this camera was never originally designed for VR and as a result this ‘outside-in’ tracking method suffered from poor accuracy and limited coverage. Instead, PS VR2 ships with four cameras embedded into the headset. This ‘inside-out’ method will vastly improve player and controller tracking for PS VR2.

New controller design

PS VR2 ditches its predecessors PS Move controllers for something altogether more sophisticated. Indeed, PS VR2’s controller shape and size should comfortably accommodate almost any hand size and promote a higher degree of natural movement thanks to their tracking rings and thumb sticks; the former of which enables the controller to detect finger location and recognise input without pressing any buttons, whilst the latter should alleviate the awkwardness of point and click movement. Also, like PS5’s DualSense, PS VR2’s controllers come equipped with adaptive triggers and haptic feedback.

PS VR2 utilising Fresnel lenses

Sony eschewed the VR industry standard Fresnel lens for PS VR, utilising a single element non-Fresnal design instead. But, for its second iteration they’ve confirmed the switch. Now, Fresnel lenses are a relatively cheap component whose primary draw is to magnify images and bring them into focus at the cost of glare and other potential artifacts. PS VR2 has prompted Sony to rethink its lens choice, with presumably the chance of optical artifacts now negligible due to higher pixel depth.

Built-in headset motor

Sony’s all about the haptic feedback for its current generation hardware, so it’s no surprise PS VR2’s headset comes equipped with a built-in motor to provide vibration and other head-orientated stimulus to strengthen the player’s connection to what’s happening on screen. Whether every player appreciates a vibrating head when playing in VR remains to be seen, but it’s a decent feature with potential to boost player immersion.

Wider field of view

Alongside the potential for PS VR2’s substantially improved image quality Sony are also touting a wider field of view. PS VR2 will stretch its pixels over 110° compared to 100° in the PS VR. Now, this isn’t a massive increase but an incremental change which might only be detectible should the two headsets be compared side by side. One thing is for sure, PS VR2’s four times as sharp image quality means there’s room to stretch the pixels over a wider field of view without any negative effect.

Eye tracking

Long expected to become consumer tech but up to now only featuring in prestige high-end units, PS VR2’s eye tracking capability has potential to open up a whole new world of gaming possibilities. Sony have confirmed eye tracking in PS VR2 will allow for ‘foveated rendering’, that is, to track exactly where the player is looking and render that relatively small picture area in high detail, leaving everything in their peripheral vision out of focus. The main advantage to this is to save on computing power, but of course there are other potential benefits such as eye-based input.

IPD lens adjustments

Standing for interpupillary distance, IPD adjustments in PS VR2 allow the headset to match the distance between the centre of the player’s pupils. IPD in adults is fixed but can alter ever so slightly depending on what the eyes are focusing on. By having IPD lens adjustment capability in PS VR2’s headset, Sony are minimising the potential for reduced image quality and eye comfort. The original PS VR’s eye relief feature is retained too meaning those with glasses will be able to dial in the perfect viewing distance between eyes and lenses.

Air vents to reduce fogginess

Pretty self-explanatory this one, PS VR2’s headset has been designed with the sweaty gamer in mind. It’ll come with a dedicated air ventilation system to promote cooling air flow. Together with an altogether lighter and slimmer headset design, wearing PS VR2 for long periods will be a cooler, more comfortable experience with much less potential for screen fogging when compared with PS VR.

Pass through view

Due to the original PS VR relying on an external camera it was incapable of pass-through view, that is, the ability for the player to look through the headset to see their surroundings in real-time. Now PS VR2 comes equipped with in-headset cameras players will now be able to grab a quick view of their room without taking the headset off and totally breaking immersion.

Play space boundary  

Because of PS VR2’s pass through view capability, players can now create a more accurate play space boundary. Free from the shackles of multiple cables, breakout boxes, and meagre external camera tracking, PS VR2 players will be able to create a truer picture of their playing area, allowing opportunity to move and look anywhere within the confines of a single cable without worry of smashing the controller into their TV screen.

PS VR2 is PS5 only

Possibly least surprising of all the points in this rundown owing to its haptic feedback capability, PS VR2 is a PS5 exclusive. If there’re PS5 players who want to dive into the world of virtual reality but can’t stump up the cash for PS VR2, the original PS VR works on PS5 alongside PS4 and PS4 Pro. For PS VR2 though, its PS5 only and currently it’s unlikely backwards compatibility will feature.

This also applies to those who claimed the game for free on PlayStation Plus, as confirmed by the game’s official Twitter account. As for its sequel, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution launches on March 21st for PlayStation VR2 and Steam. Along with the Standard Edition ($39.99) and Payback Edition ($49.99), there’s the Chapter 1 and 2 Deluxe Edition, which includes both games and other bonuses for $59.99.

If you played the game on Meta Quest 2, save data can be transferred over to other platforms (though cross-buy is limited to Meta’s platforms). PlayStation VR2 launches on February 22nd for $549.99. For more details on its launch window titles, head here.

PS Plus is included for the free upgrade

— TWD Saints & Sinners (@WalkingDeadVR) January 23, 2023