Here’s a franchise that has maintained a remarkable level of quality and consistency throughout its lifespan, and though it’s by no means a system seller, or one of the top billing games on any PlayStation platform, its still a series that millions of people hold very close to their hearts. In recent years though, Wipeout has slowly but surely all but faded away, to the point where it now seems like little more than a hazy memory. Sure, we got a remastered release not too long ago – and an excellent one at that – but how long has it been since we got a true sequel? Too long, I say.

And why exactly is that? It’s hard to think of a bad Wipeout game. Most of them have been legitimately good, while many have been downright excellent. Even Wipeout Fusion, which often divides opinion among series fans, is at the very least a solid racer, while Wipeout 2048, though somewhat unremarkable, is never not fun. So why is it that even in the face of such remarkable consistency, this series finds itself on ice? What the hell happened to Wipeout? 

Though this is a series that is closely associated with PlayStation and Sony, funnily enough, it didn’t start out that way. Before their restructuring in 2000, SCE Studio Liverpool were known as Psygnosis, the creators of Wipeout, and though they were acquired by Sony in 1993 – two years before the first Wipeout game came out – they actually retained a surprising amount of independence that would be unimaginable in today’s day and age- to the extent that many of their games were even multiplatform titles.

The very first Wipeout came out on the PS1, of course, but it also came out on PC and – just a few months after its PS1 launch – on the Sega Saturn. Its sequel, Wipeout 2097, released for the PS1 in September 1996, followed by a PC release in July 1997, and, once again, a Sega Saturn launch in September of that year. Hell, before moving on to Wipeout 3, they even made a Wipeout game for the N64, with Wipeout 64, which was published by Midway Games. Imagine that- a Sony-owned studio making an N64 exclusive title.

It was only with the fourth game in the series, which was Wipeout 3, that the franchise went all-in as a PlayStation exclusive property. That, incidentally, was also the last Wipeout game the development team made under its original name, with 2002’s Wipeout Fusion on the PS2 – and every subsequent Wipeout title afterwards, being developed under the SCE Studio Liverpool moniker.

That is, until 2012. 2012 saw the release of Wipeout 2048, a launch title for the PlayStation Vita, and though the game by no means set the world on fire – its excessively long loading times attracted a lot of criticism, in fact – it was still a technically impressive and deeply enjoyable game with some excellent track design. It was, sadly, also the last game to be made by SCE Studio Liverpool, with Sony shutting it down in 2012.

It’s been seven years since Wipeout 2048 came out and SCE Studio Liverpool was shuttered, and we’ve received no new Wipeout sequel. We did see the launch of Omega Collection on PS4, a remastered collection of PS3’s Wipeout HD, its Fury expansion, and 2048. Releasing in 2017, Omega Collection was very well received upon launch, and though it’s definitely worth experience for all PS4 owners – especially if you own a PSVR headset, for which it is probably one of the top 3 games to date – it still doesn’t scratch that itch for a new game in the series.

With SCE Liverpool no longer being in the picture, the future of Wipeout remains a little hazy. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that Sony has given up on the franchise- the 2017 remaster would suggest that they still see some value in this property. But with half a decade having passed since the last new entry in the series, and more than a decade since the last console entry, one can’t help but wonder what the future holds for the franchise.

Before the studio was shuttered, they had been working on two launch titles for the PS4. One was going to be a Splinter Cell-style stealth game, while the other was a new Wipeout entry. It was billed as being “drastically different” from previous games in the series, and when the studio was shuttered, it was already pretty far along in production, having been in development for about 12-18 months. What does that say about Sony’s confidence in the series? Well, it doesn’t necessarily say anything about Wipeout specifically- internal restructuring and shuttering of studios isn’t something that is all that uncommon in this industry, sadly. But it does tell us that Sony doesn’t have too much of an issue cancelling a game that has been in development for over a year, and shutting down the studio that was in charge of not just that game, but the entire series from its very inception.

It should be noted, that, that back in 2015, Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida made comments that were quite positive about Wipeout. When asked about the future of the franchise in the wake of SCE Liverpool having been closed down, Yoshida said that there was always a chance the series could make a return. “Never say never,” he said. “There are many IPs that we kind of stopped iterating with new games. One of the reasons is we always love to work on new IP. From my standpoint I try to balance the number of games in a franchise. In the future there might be a chance to come back to a game like Wipeout.”

All of which is to say that as things stand right now, we’re probably not going to see another Wipeout title for a while. “There might be a chance to come back to Wipeout” is by no means a definitive statement- it leaves the door open for Sony in case they ever want to come back to the property, but it also tells us that for now, they have no plans to do anything with it.

And really, one simple look at their first party philosophies and lineup in recent years should be enough to tell us that anyway. Sony’s leaned very heavily into cinematic single player experiences, and it’s worked out very well for them. Their games receive widespread praise and sell millions following that direction, and it stands to reason that that’s what they’re going to continue doing. That’s where all their resources are being diverted- and it’s not like they even have a dedicated studio to work on the series anymore.

Sony has, to be fair, stated in recent months that it would like to focus a bit more on online gaming with the PS5, and that is something that Wipeout would definitely qualify for. But even if they were to make good on those words, wouldn’t it make sense for them to go to other, more financially successful properties first- such as Killzone, for instance? Sadly, it seems like Wipeout is going to remain in the shadows for now- which is a real shame, because when this series was at its best, it delivered some of the best racing games any of us ever saw.

If you’ve been playing the stellar Wipeout: Omega Collection and decided to make things even more intense, then there’s good news. The promised PlayStation VR patch is now available, thus letting you race with Sony’s virtual reality headset.

All modes are available for VR play and it’s possible to experience the entire game in virtual reality. To make things even sweeter is the addition of three VR exclusive ships for Wipeout HD, Wipeout HD Fury and Wipeout 2048. The audio has also received the 3D treatment, which should make for a more immersive aural experience. A new remix of Shake It by Vieille Griffe has also been added to accommodate the 3D audio update.

Developed by XDev, Clever Beans and EPOS Game Studios, Wipeout: Omega Collection released in June 2017 for PlayStation 4. Along with commercial success, it has received critical praise for its graphical revamp, a large amount of content and responsive controls. You can check out our official review here for more information.

Sony has announced that people who own WipEout HD and Fury on the PS3 will get the Vita version free, which will be released as a DLC pack to boost WipEout 2048 content.

“The first pack is the “WipEout 2048 WipEout HD Add-On Pack” for $7.99, which includes the full single-player WipEout HD campaign mode and all of the WipEout HD online multiplayer tracks,” wrote Ami Nakajima of studio Liverpool on the PS Blog.

“With 12 new tracks for your PS Vita (including eight reverse tracks), 12 additional ships, and a Zone Mode Ship, you’ll be put to the test after conquering WipEout 2048. As an added bonus, you’ll have access to an additional 12 crossplay tracks outside of the original four tracks included in WipEout 2048 for simultaneous multiplayer action on your PS3 and PS Vita.”

Sony has mentioned that if you buy the Vita version of WipEout 2048, you will get the PS3 version for free.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

The PS Vita has released worldwide as of now, and WipEout 2048 is one of the launch games! The game looks much better than this, but this video is just to give an idea of how it works.

The music is pretty amazing in this game. Footage was captured by… me!

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

WipEout has always been the staple racer franchise for Sony platforms since the PS1 days, and you have to be out of your mind if you think it won’t be available for Sony’s new spanking hardware — the PlayStation Vita. In case you’re new to the franchise, you need to know just one thing — it’s all about speed. It also overwhelms your eyes with fantastic sci-fi visuals, that blurts out colours at a rapid rate to overload your ocular system. But that’s a good thing, obviously. Most WipEout games are also known for running at 60 fps, but — in what is probably the only downside here — this game runs at a 30 fps frame rate.

Initially, I was a bit worried that this would ruin the experience drastically, but once I started playing the game, all such concerns vanished really fast. Make no mistake about it, this is the WipEout you know and love, and features all the gameplay characteristics that made its predecessors so great. As a launch title, it doesn’t get any better when it comes to the general quality of the software — like this other game over here, WipEout 2048 features a lot of modes to keep the player busy for a long time.

So what should you expect from this game? A lot apparently. WipEout 2048 features a glut of gameplay modes and plenty of unlockables, along with trophy support, which ensures high replayability factor. I can’t praise the visuals enough. When you combine that gorgeous OLED screen of the Vita with the flashy colourful visuals of this game, the result is something spectacular, something that will arouse you and titillate your senses. The levels in the game are masterfully designed and sport great neon style lighting.

If you have played WipEout HD on the PS3, then the event menu will remind you of it. The hexagon shaped events make it easy to select any mission you want. Just like its console counterpart, this game also features a lot of gameplay modes — psychedelic Zone races, time trials and standard races. The controls offered to you are quite varied, and you can either use the touchscreen to play or the analogue sticks. I would suggest the latter because that’s how WipEout is supposed to be played, and considering the game is quite tough, a traditional control system is recommended.

The game has a multiplayer component as well, which is quite fun and the netcode is not really problematic. This is the first Vita game I played online, so my impression was a positive one. You have the option of participating in campaign styled races against other players. It’s quite straightforward and doesn’t really need an explanation, and everything is quite streamlined here. I didn’t have any laggy races so far, and considering you can use a lot of offensive and defensive pick-ups, it was quite a refreshing experience playing this without any visible high latency.

Coming to the pick-ups, even in the campaign mode, you can use them for a lot of bonuses. You could take out other vehicles, or boost your defenses to prevent your vehicle’s obliteration. It all happens so fast during gameplay that you really need to concentrate here. That also makes the gameplay very addictive and combined with unlockables like additional vehicles and events, you will be playing this game for a long time. The loading times are a bit on the higher side though.

If you have ordered a PlayStation Vita, having this game in your collection is highly recommended. Not only does it have great visuals, but the content is quite beefy as well. It’s also a technical showcase, and their are no real drawbacks, other than the slightly higher loading times and the 30 FPS framerate. The latter isn’t an issue (for most of the part), as it is not noticeable in the game — the game mostly runs very smoothly. This game has everything to satisfy your portable racing needs, and is quite an enjoyable experience. The added multiplayer component is just the  icing on the cake.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation Vita.

It looks pretty good, have a look above.

WipEout 2048 releases as a PS Vita launch title on February 23 when the system launches.

You can download the Wipeout 2048 demo from the Japanese PSN store, before the official release Sony has confirmed. The demo will be available on January 17th.

The retail game releases on January 20th.

It wasn’t a Vita launch game in Japan but it will be in the Europe and US. It is reported to run at 30 fps, but that could have been changed by now.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Thanks, Siliconera.

For more on WipEout 2048 please click here