On June 11, 2020, Sony hosted its Future of Gaming event where it gave the world its first look at the PlayStation 5, its next-generation console, and the early lineup of games in development for it. In total, PlayStation showcased 26 different games for the PS5, ranging from pure exclusives to console exclusives to cross-generational games in the works for both the PS5 and Sony's older console, the PS4.
It's been over a year since Sony's Future of Gaming showcase and we're nearing the one year anniversary of the PS5 release date itself. Since the original Future of Gaming showcase, 15 of the 26 games have been released to the masses, with 11 that still have yet to launch. Some of those games will be released later this year, but others still won't be released until some point in 2022 or even later.
The first year of the PS5's lifespan has been a huge success, and it's largely thanks to the games that Sony showed at its Future of Gaming event, which successfully set the tone for what was to come. While PlayStation 5 gamers wait for information on the Future of Gaming titles that have yet to be released, here is how the titles released so far have stacked up.
PS5 Future of Gaming Games That Have Released
- Astro's Playroom
- Bugsnax
- Deathloop
- Demon's Souls
- Destruction: AllStars
- Godfall
- Hitman 3
- Kena: Bridge of Spirits
- NBA 2K21
- Oddworld: Soulstorm
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
- Resident Evil Village
- Returnal
- Sackboy: A Big Adventure
- Spider-Man: Miles Morales
A little over a year after the PlayStation 5 Future of Gaming showcase, and 15 of the 26 games have been released for PlayStation consoles. This is an impressive feat, and it reiterates Sony philosophy of not revealing games too far in advance. It seems all of the titles shown during the Future of Gaming event were games that Sony was fairly confident would be out for the PlayStation 5 within the first couple of years of the next-generation console's launch.
And while there were some flops in this initial wave of games released for the PS5 in its first year, many others lived up to the hype or exceeded expectations. The Demon's Souls remake got things started hot for the PS5, serving as the console's premiere launch title to show off its graphical prowess. Fellow PS5 launch titles Astro's Playroom, Bugsnax, and Spider-Man: Miles Morales also did well, with Astro's Playroom generally considered to be one of the games that uses the PS5 DualSense controller's unique features best.
The PS5 has kept its momentum throughout 2021, with exclusives like Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Returnal earning critical acclaim alongside multiplatform releases like Resident Evil Village. On top of those games, PlayStation just recently enjoyed the launch of two PlayStation console exclusives that have similarly earned strong reviews from critics in the form of Deathloop and Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
The PlayStation 5 has enjoyed a great deal of success since the Future of Gaming showcase, and while chip shortages have certainly played a role in the console's availability, so too has its immense popularity. Sony has quickly worked to make the PlayStation 5 console must-have for gamers, with an impressive and growing selection of console exclusive games. And considering how successful the games shown during the PS5 Future of Gaming showcase have been so far, it's easy to get excited about the titles that are still on the way for Sony's next-generation console.
PS5 Future of Gaming Games We Are Still Waiting For
- Forspoken (2022)
- Ghostwire Tokyo (2022)
- Goodbye Volcano High (2022)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (March 2022)
- Gran Turismo 7 (March 4, 2022)
- Horizon Forbidden West (February 18, 2022)
- Jett: The Far Shore (October 5, 2021)
- Little Devil Inside (TBA)
- Pragmata (2022)
- Solar Ash (October 26, 2021)
- Stray (2022)
There are 11 games that Sony showed during the PS5 Future of Gaming showcase that still haven't released. This includes some smaller indie games like Goodbye Volcano High, Jett: The Far Shore, Little Devil Inside, and Solar Ash, but just because they may not have budgets comparable to some of the other PS5 games coming up doesn't mean that fans should write them off. Indie games are huge for the PlayStation brand, and there's a good chance that some of them will come out swinging as award-winning titles with rave reviews.
Some of these indie titles will help PlayStation pad out its holiday 2021 after some of the bigger exclusives were delayed to next year. For instance, Jett: The Far Shore from Superbrothers will be a PlayStation console exclusive when it launches on October 5, 2021. Then a couple of weeks later on October 26, Solar Ash will launch from the developers of the critically-acclaimed Hyper Light Drifter. This doesn't include the many other PS5 games dropping in October that weren't a part of the Future of Gaming showcase, so there should be a ton of titles for owners of Sony's next-generation console to look forward to next month.
It seems that a decent number of these unreleased Future of Gaming titles will be aiming for launch within the first few months of 2022. Stray, the quirky game where players play as a cat, is pegged for a vague early 202 release, whereas other titles have more specific dates. Horizon Forbidden West will probably be the first big PlayStation exclusive when it launches on February 18, serving as the highly-anticipated followup to Horizon Zero Dawn with a great deal of hype behind it.
Then on March 4, PlayStation gamers can look forward to the release of racing game Gran Turismo 7, the latest installment in the long-running franchise from Polyphony Digital. Both Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West are cross-generation games, but they should still be visually impressive on PS5, with exclusive DualSense features to boot.
Grand Theft Auto 5 may be technically available on older platforms as well, but this particular version is next-gen exclusive. Rockstar Games has yet to reveal much about what fans can expect from Grand Theft Auto 5's leap to next-generation consoles, but more should come to light in the months ahead. As it stands, Grand Theft Auto 5's PS5 release date is set for a March 2022 release window, but not much else has been revealed.
Barring any release date delays, PlayStation fans should be able to expect the rest of the titles on the list to be spread out throughout 2022. Some of them may hit that early 2022 release window, but it stands to reason that others will come out later in the year or may potentially even be delayed out of 2022. Regardless, the other games that fit that bill are Forspoken, a new action-RPG from Square Enix; Ghostwire Tokyo, a supernatural-themed action game from The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks; and Pragmata, a mysterious sci-fi game that's currently in development at Capcom.
It's clear that PlayStation has a huge lineup coming in 2022, and it should be stressed that this not an exhaustive list of upcoming PlayStation 5 titles. This is only taking into account the games that were shown during the PS5 Future of Gaming showcase on June 11, 2020. It doesn't include the titles that have been revealed since then, like God of War: Ragnarok, for instance, so it seems that 2022 is shaping up to be one of the best years for the PlayStation brand to date.