Here's When You Can Start Playing Sony's Next Big PS5…

2024 has been a fairly underwhelming year when it comes to big PlayStation exclusives, with only a handful having been released up until now. Thankfully, that's all about to change with Astro Bot, which promises to be Team Asobi's biggest and most ambitious project to date.

Aloy, Nathan Drake, Kratos, and Atreus in Astro Bot

All 200 VIP Bots in Astro Bot (Every PlayStation Character Cameo)

Most of the Astro Bot cameo characters are pretty easy to identify, but there are a few VIP Bots who are obscure and thus can be difficult to place.

Posts 5

By Tom Bowen

With over 70 stages and more than 100 cameo characters to track down, Astro Bot has the potential to be one of the year's biggest games. For those who want to know when they'll be able to start playing it, the following guide has release times for Astro Bot, as well as information about preloading and file size.

What Time Can I Start Playing Astro Bot?

A screenshot of Astro Bot rescuing a robot that looks like Ratchet from Ratchet and Clank.

Like many other big PS5 exclusives, Astro Bot will be released at midnight (local time) on September 6, with local time being determined by the region to which the player's PlayStation store account is currently tied. It's worth noting that the US PlayStation Store operates on Eastern Time, so those living in other US timezones will get to start playing Astro Bot up to three hours earlier than their compatriots to the East. As is often the case, though, it's the people in New Zealand and Australia who'll gain access to the game first.

Astro Bot Release Times by Region

Time Zone	Release Time
Los Angeles (PDT)	21:00 on September 5
New York (EDT)	00:00 on September 6
London (BST)	00:00 on September 6
Berlin (CEST)	00:00 on September 6
Tokyo (JST)	00:00 on September 6
Sydney (AEST)	00:00 on September 6
Auckland (NZST)	00:00 on September 6

Can I Preload Astro Bot?

Preloading for Astro Bot is already live, so those who pre-order the game can get it downloaded to their consoles ahead of the full release. Version 1.001.000 of Astro Bot is 37.64 GB, although it's possible that the full release will be a little larger if there ends up being a Day One patch. As of the moment, there's no word on whether that will be the case.

Can I Play Astro Bot Early?

Unlike a lot of other modern video games, those who pre-order Astro Bot will not get early access to the game regardless of which edition they buy. As such, players should pick the version that they think offers the best value for money, whether that be the standard edition of Astro Bot or the digital deluxe.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image